It is considered a serious crime in Britain for a person to be ridiculed for being bald, in the office, or among friends. A British court has ruled that this is sexual abuse. The Employment Tribunal has ruled in one case. An employee went to court with a complaint that Tony Finn was calling him bald.
He had worked for a company in Yorkshire for 24 years before being fired by the company last year. He later went to court. He has also filed a lawsuit against the company alleging sexual harassment. According to the Daily Mail, the employee claimed in the lawsuit that he was sexually assaulted by factory supervisor Jamie King at one point. While he was working, Jamie called him bald. On this, the judge said that men lose more hair than women. This is tantamount to discriminating against anyone using the term.
A three-member panel ruled in the case. Calling a man bald is tantamount to commenting on a woman's breasts, the court said. Judge Jonathan Brain ruled that speaking out was not only an insult but also a sexual abuse. "In our findings, there is a correlation between the word 'bald' and the protected feature of sex," the panel said.
The use of the word "bald" for Finn is an insulting practice, which has damaged Finn's reputation and created a climate of fear. "We found it to be sexual," the court said.