Many victims know the greasy, humiliating, infuriating feeling of being sexually harassed at work. They don't always know what to do about it.
In a poll conducted recently by The Washington Post and ABC, 30 percent of women said they had experienced unwanted sexual advances from a man at the place where they worked, 23 percent of them from men who had influence over their jobs. Of those who had experiences with harassment, 58 percent said they had not reported the incidents to anyone in a supervisory position.
It's not just women who are harassed, and it's not just men who do the harassing, which can be prosecuted as a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The law applies to employers with 15 or more employees, including state and local governments.
Employers are responsible for taking reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in their workplaces. It's good business, but it's also the law. The American Bar Association says employers must have and disseminate sexual harassment prohibition policies that include procedures for reporting and investigating claims, as well as policies that protect complainants and witnesses from retaliation.
If you aren't sure whether your behavior toward others could be considered harassment, here are some basic rules on how to act in a workplace:
_ Be aware of other people's personal space, and don't invade someone else's without permission. Don't touch and don't stand too close. Compliments on colleagues' work are appropriate. Compliments on their appearance are not. Questions about their love lives are out of bounds. So are: sexually explicit language, including jokes, whether whispered in the snack bar or sent by email; sexist and demeaning comments about women; suggestions that an employee must provide sexual favors to keep a job or get a promotion.
If you are the recipient of unwanted advances:
_ It's possible the harasser is unaware his behavior is unwelcome or that it's causing discomfort. Tell him in clear, firm language what he did, that the behavior is unacceptable and that it must stop.
_ Document the harassment, whether or not you decide to file a complaint. Feminist.org suggests keeping a detailed journal with dates of the incidents and what was said or done. Tell other people, including friends and co-workers, if possible. Get copies of your work records, including performance evaluations, and keep the copies at home.
_ Report the harassment. If possible, tell your supervisor. If you work in local or state government or a company with a human resources department, go there. It's best to put the complaint in writing, and keep copies for yourself. Do this promptly, as there are legal deadlines for filing formal complaints.
_ If your private-sector workplace has no human resources department, if the department does not take the complaint seriously or if you want to sue the employer, file a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
_ File a lawsuit. This can be a lengthy and emotionally taxing process but can result in monetary damages and changes in the workplace. Eisenberg & Baum, a national law firm, says the most successful cases have: documentation; corroborating testimony of witnesses or others who experienced similar treatment; physical evidence such as photos or objects used as harassment; a personal log detailing the harassment; work records; copies of internal complaints and responses; and any medical records or doctors' testimony about harm caused by the harassment.
