Sexual harassment is committed by an employer, employee, manager, supervisor, agent of the employer, teacher, instructor, professor, coach, trainer, or any other person who, having moral ascendancy over another. It is committed in a work, education or training environment.
In a work-related environment, sexual harassment is committed if sexual favor is made as a condition for hiring or in granting favorable terms and conditions of work; if it is made that would impair employee’s rights or privileges under existing labor laws; or the above acts would result in an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment for the employee.
In an education or training environment, sexual harassment is committed if sexual favor is made as a condition to the giving of passing grades, or granting of honors or scholarships or other privileges; or the above acts would result in an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment for the student.
When dealing with sexual harassment, every situation varies. However, there are two important things to remember:
Say no. One legal requirement for sexual harassment is that the conduct be "unwelcome." Make sure the harasser knows that you consider his or her conduct to be unwelcome. Tell the person that his or her behavior offends you. Firmly refuse all invitations for dates or other personal inaction outside of work. Do not engage in flirtatious response, or otherwise send mixed signals. Direct communication (whether orally or in writing) is better than ignoring the behavior and hoping it will go away.
Report harassment to your employer. It is very important that you report the harassment because your employer or coordinator must know or have reason to know about the harassment in order to be legally responsible for a sexually harassing conduct. Tell your supervisor, your human resources department or some other department or person within your company who has the power to stop the harassment. It is best to notify them in writing, and to keep a copy of any written complaint you make to your employer. Describe the problem and how you want it fixed. This creates a written record of when you complained and what happened in response to it. If there is a policy which employees are supposed to follow when reporting harassment, you should follow the policy to the fullest extent possible. While you may not think complaining will do any good, your company may later claim it would have stopped the harassment if it had known about it.
The following are other strategies which you may also want to try at this point:
Write it down. As soon as you experience the harassment, start writing down exactly what happened. Be as specific as possible: write down dates, places, times, and possible witnesses to what happened. If possible, ask co-workers to also write down what they saw or heard, especially if the same thing is happening to them too. Others may read this written record at some point, so be as accurate and objective as possible. Do not keep the record at work, but at home or in some other safe place where you will have access to it in case something suddenly happens at work.
Keep your work records. A harasser may try to defend him or herself by attacking your job performance. Keep copies of any records of your work performance, including copies of your performance evaluation and any memoranda or letters documenting the quality of your work. If you do not have copies of relevant documents, try to gather them (by legitimate means only).
Talk to others. If you can do so safely, talk to other people at work about the harassment. You may find witnesses, allies, or others that have been harassed by the same person or who would be willing to help support you. Tell supportive friends, family members, and colleagues about the abuse. Telling others about the harassment not only can give you much needed support, but it can also be important evidence later.
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