Nine Ways To Deal With Workplace Sexual Harassment

There is still a long way to go for equal representation in several industries, but the work is ongoing. While women are breaking boundaries and making a name for themselves in male-dominated roles, they sometimes also fear specific actions happening in the workplace. After Harvey Weinstein’s public disgrace in the United States at the height of the #MeToo movement, it became clear that women are increasingly unsafe even at work.

But a culture of shame and ‘who will believe me?’ has kept many women from speaking up when they experience workplace harassment. But it’s time to break the culture of shaming and silence. It’s time to speak out when or if you experience sexual harassment at work. Here are nine ways to handle such incidences at work:

1. Check in-house culture

Study your company’s policies about sexual harassment and follow the outlined procedure for reporting such behaviour. Ensure that your company supports victims of sexual harassment.

2. Report the harassment immediately

Once you have confirmed that your organisation has rules and policies against such behaviours, report the incident immediately. Write a formal complaint to your human resources department detailing the incident and ask that they should look into it and do something to fix it.

3. Objectively write down the incident

After the incident occurs, take time to note everything that happened. Please pay attention to the date, the time, how it happened, events that led up to it, events that came after, and possible witnesses. Keep this well-detailed note for yourself, in case you end up needing it.

4. Find others who may have similar experiences

If it happened to you, it most likely has happened to other people at the same office. Find other women and even men who may have experienced similar issues in the hands of your aggressor. Ask them also to write down and report their incidents. If you can’t do that, mention when you report that you believe you are not alone.

5. Keep the records of your work

This is particularly important if your harasser is your superior or supervisor. They may try to attack your work performance if/when you report them. Make sure you have copies of your work reports and appraisals so that they can’t claim you are falsely accusing them because they called you out on poor work performance.

6. Get witnesses

If there were people around who could have seen what happened, speak to them. You may be lucky that one or two of them will agree to speak up for you and make your case stronger.

7. Refuse to be bullied

There’s every possibility they may try to force you to redact your statement or resign from your job; stand firm. It would be difficult to face that level of pushback, but you’ll be helping to save thousands of other women if you can hold your ground, fight your case, and win.

8. If necessary, lawyer up

If it seems like you are about to be rail-roaded or that the company is not taking any steps to help you find justice, lawyer up. Ensure you get an attorney you can tell what happened to and file a lawsuit against both the aggressor and the company. The organisation became liable as soon as you filed a formal complaint, and they failed to do anything about it.

9. Get support from friends and family

Don’t go through this tough time alone. Tell your closest friends and family and ask for their help. You’ll need it if things drag on too long.