Many victims remain silent on sexual misconduct
UP TO 85% OF WOMEN HAVE EXPERIENCED SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE
spate recent public revelations, including the spontaneous #metoo discussions on social media, is emboldening many victims of sexual harassment to speak up, but many still remain silent.
Up to 85 per cent of women have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace and many men as well according to a report released in 2016 by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Common responses include: avoiding the harasser, downplaying the gravity of the situation or attempting to ignore or endure. The least common response? Taking formal action. In fact, 70 per cent of men or women who experienced workplace harassment “never even talked with a supervisor, manager or union representative about it,” according to the report.
AP spoke to several experts about why this is still underreported: of
Why they don’t report it
Sexual harassment is part of a national conversation these days, but many victims still aren’t coming forward. Why? The top reason is a fear of retaliation — either by the harasser or their employer.
“While it is illegal ... that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen,” said Emily Martin, vicepresident for workplace justice at the National Women’s Law Centre. “It happens a lot.”
Tammy Cho, co-founder of BetterBrave, a website that provides resources for sexual harassment victims, also talked about distrust in human resources. The site was launched after a female engineer at Uber publicly detailed her harassment at the company and how her complaints were ignored. BetterBrave, which interviewed hundreds on the topic, also found there is underreporting due to uncertainty about what is considered sexual harassment.
And there is a preference to avoid drama. “Survivors don’t speak up because as a society, we shame, isolate and doubt survivors when they come forward,” said Sheerine Alemzadeh, co-founder and co-director of Healing to Action, which fights gender-based violence through workforce leaders. “Our culture normalises violence and aggression against women. Until that changes, survivors only risk further trauma by coming forward.”
Watershed moment?
There have been a number of victims speaking up lately. Will this help bring more victims forward? “Absolutely, I definitely think seeing women come forward empowers other women to come forward,” said Cho. There are signs this is true: calls to the National Women’s Law Center about harassment have doubled in the past month.
However, Martin is more reserved in her assessment, saying it remains to be seen if this is an isolated moment. “What we are seeing now is the power of women’s voices ... people sharing their stories of harassment is making women feel more empowered to say ‘It happened to me too’.”
Alemzadeh also expressed some caution about this being seen as a watershed point.
Victims will come forward only if reports are “met with a strong, proactive response and clear consequences”, she said.
How to take action
What are your options if you were harassed and want to take formal action? Beyond confronting the harasser, you can report the situation in your workplace, file an EEOC charge or seek legal action.
BetterBrave has tips online, the EEOC has information on its website and you can consult with an employment attorney. Most experts advise getting basic information about your legal rights.
National Women’s Law Centre is launching a “Network for Gender Equity” that connects women with attorneys willing to do a free initial visit.
What should you do first? Cho said the first step is to document it — save that email, take screen shots or save any other pertinent information. Or simply write down all the details you can remember with as many facts possible. “The gut reaction is ‘This never happened to me,’ and to push it out of their mind or even delete evidence,” she said. But that information can help you greatly down the line.