Deal With Sexual Harassment at Work By Lina Stillman

Facing an abusive employer at any workplace is not something new, as we know there will never be any perfection at any place either from the employee’s side or from an employer. Abuse is everywhere and an old headline now. But to stay safe from such an abusive employer, it’s quite important to be cautious. Keep the following points in your mind always during working to know how badly it’s affecting you.

• Facing any kind of illegal abuse such as unwanted physical touch, inappropriate comments.
• Always yelling at you and degrading your confidence.
• Too demanding for work from you and creating more and more stress.
• Not allowing you to enjoy in your free time.
• Monitoring on you completely.
• Invades your privacy.

An abuse at your workplace will affect your wellness badly and leads to complete stress in your life. A manageable abuse may somehow stop his/her abusive nature with you. Going beyond the limits is never to be ignored, as it creates serious issues in the future. Tolerating such abuse leads to further hard abuses and may affect your health and safety somehow.

It’s shocking to know that even in modern times, sexual harassment still exists at many workplaces. In a small or big organization, there’s always the tendency of being assaulted at work. Some of the seniors use their power in the office to get what they want in exchange for job security.

How to stop an abusive environment of your senior?

• Direct conversation with your senior in this matter
• Talk to your human resource department regarding this.

What is Sexual Harassment?

To humiliate, offend some person is sexual harassment whether it can be physical, verbal or written. Any kind of objectionable behavior and inappropriate behavior which is making another person Responding to any sexual harassment is a strong decision instead of tolerating it, and it’s also the responsibility of managers or employers to take immediate strict action. Under criminal law, some types of sexual harassment offenses are stalking, sexual assault and obscene or insecure come under sexual harassment.

threatening communications, such as phone calls, letters, emails, text messages and posts on social networking sites.

For any sexual harassment case, the liability is of the person who is harassing the person along with the whole workplace staff. Any partner in crime is also not spared for supporting any such sexual harassment. Both the victim and the harasser can be either a woman or a man and can be of the same sex.

To protect employees from the devastating effects of sexual harassment at many levels some of the laws, rules, and regulations are put in to take actions in such cases.

1. Power of speak against the harasser- The direct way to deal with any sexual harassment is a verbal warning to the harasser.
2. Report the harassment issue to an appropriate senior- Complaining to your supervisor and human resource department against the harasser. Now, your organization should have to handle this seriously by taking appropriate actions.
3. File a charge with your state human or civil rights establishment-The governing agency in your state have to deal with issues of workplace discrimination and
4. Legal action- Dealing with the harasser by taking legal action is the most dramatic step ever. The victim has to file lawsuits against the harasser. Talk to an experienced lawyer in your area and ensure that your legal rights are protected.

How to prepare yourself for filing any complaint?

• Collect all Facts
• Meet with your lawyer along with all the facts straight.
• Keep all the details related to the incident well organized.
• List down what happened in a chronological order
• Eyewitness accounts hold much weight, so get the evidence.
• Provide all the relevant documents, texts, recordings, emails if you have any.
• Compress your facts related to that incident in a short and summarized story.
• Be confident and positive with all the provided facts.

A victim never ever has to be afraid of the harasser’s higher position as harasser can be the victim’s supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or someone who is not an employee of the employer, such as a client or customer. When your personal life becomes totally disturbing due to such harassing incident, then you don’t have to silently avoid it. As avoiding to take any serious actions against the harasser makes him more encouraged to harass you as well as to others too.
Not taking up a stand for yourself is not a solution. If you are sexually assaulted at your workplace then raise your voice, Do not be ashamed to fight. Take an initiative to speak up against the wrong happening with you, and let the harasser behind the bars. Be smart enough by knowing all the lawsuits to be taken against harasser at any place.

Just raise your voice to decline the power of harasser!

Author: Lina Stillman