Wednesday, 18 July, 2018
Whenever we hear the term ‘sexual harassment’, it brings images like someone improperly touching another or saying nasty things to opposite sex. But is that everything about sexual harassment that we need to know?
The answer is ‘No’. Sexual harassment can be any type of unwelcome or unwanted sexual behaviour that offends, humiliates or makes the person uncomfortable. It can be physical, verbal, written or in any other conduct. It can be physical acts, verbal comments, pictures, suggestive behaviours, improper response on social media, mail or other virtual media, anything.
Now, the place. You can be a victim of sexual harassment at almost anywhere; workplace, school, street, public transport, even at your home. You could be uncomfortable with something that your spouse is repeatedly doing even after saying ‘no’ several times, that could be considered as sexual harassment as well. Another misconception about sexual harassment is that, it comes only from the opposite sex. No, actions from the same gender can also be considered as sexual harassment if you do not feel comfortable with it.
What to do when someone harasses you?
The first thing to do when you feel you are being sexually harassed, is to speak up and let the harasser know that his action is not acceptable to you. Sometimes people do not realise that their actions are making the other person uncomfortable. Being vocal about it can resolve these types of situations. But if the harasser continues to do the same, this is when you need to take stronger measures. What are those measures?
If someone harasses you at the workplace, there are measures that you can take to stop that and protect your right to a legal remedy. You can inform the administrator about the incidents and officially complaint about it. Generally organisations follow their own rules and regulations to ensure their employees’ safety and security and to deal with this type of situations. But if you are not happy about the action taken, there are other options too. An experienced attorney can discuss all the facts and available options with you and can assist you on the legal procedure.
The extreme measure will be to sue the harasser. Though you need to file a complaint against the harasser in the states fair employment agency before filing a lawsuit. Only after the agency has investigated the incident and declared your complaint to be valid, it issues you a ‘right to sue’ letter and then you can file a lawsuit. This process can be hectic and has the potential to exhaust the victim even more than s/he already is, but an experienced solicitor can help you through it.
If your sexual harassment suit is successful, your remedies may include: