The Importance of Reporting Sexual Harassment In The Workplace

My question is about how to go about reporting sexual harassment at work.

How do I go about reporting sexual abuse at my office without getting fired or sidelined?

I feel so powerless as to how to handle this. If I report the incident to HR, everyone will know. I’ll be a pariah. People will stare at me and avoid me. I’ll feel so uncomfortable that I’ll probably quit.

–Name withheld

You are not alone. One in three women have experienced sexual harassment at work — and yet 71% of these incidents go unreported. Only two in ten female harassment victims dare to file a complaint.

There are those who think that when women in the workplace go along to get along, they become part of the problem.

It’s extremely important that you document the harassment in order to have an accurate record of exactly what is (or was) going on when and where.

The good news is that the younger millennials joining the workforce are changing the culture for the better.

Because so many of them have had working mothers, these millennials are more sensitive to issues of women in the workplace, and are better able to monitor and control their own behavior.

Let’s do more than just hope that we are at a crossroad.

It all depends how forcefully women — who apparently are far better at reading facial expressions and body language than men — voice their opinions on sexual harassment.

As even more self-help options become accessible, those numbers will improve. In the meantime:

The app Blind lets employees at more than a hundred companies, including Facebook, Google, Uber, Airbnb and Amazon, sign up through their work email to chat about sexual harassment in a way that prevents the person from being specifically identified by name. Whether they are a victim or uncertain as to what is considered sexual harassment, or simply have witnessed it as a bystander, they have a voice.
Additionally, the online how-to guide to handling sexual harassment at work called Betterbrave has had over 300,000 visits since its launch last summer. It’s an excellent resource providing, tools, and employment lawyers to targets, whether you have a fear of retaliation or distrust HR.

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