Dear Ladies, here’s how to deal with workplace sexual harassment

Sexual harassment is any form of unwanted and unwelcome sexual advances. It remains one of the vices a number of women fight against at home, social events and even at work.

These tips will help you deal with sexual harassment at your workplace;

Understand what the term means

Not every sexual advance amounts to harassment. Offensive sexual statements, requests and actions are a violation of your rights. But mutual flirting or a basic date request does add up as exploitation. Thus, it is necessary to understand the concept of sexual harassment so you can easily identify it.

Confront the harasser

A quick confrontation may end this problem at the beginning stage. Approach the harasser and firmly say you neither appreciate nor welcome the act. Clearly tell the person responsible to stop the act.

Keep a record

Cases of sexual harassment are usually trivialized due to lack of evidence. Hence, use your phone to record, write down dates and times of abuse, and describe the act in your notepad. These will all serve as future evidence when you decide to take legal actions.

Report to your workplace administrator 

Keeping a harassment hidden equals fanning a growing fire. Reporting to your management team is another way you can make your organisation call the harasser into order. Except when the administrator(s) is the harasser, most of the advances end by this stage.

Plan for a greener pasture

Unwanted sexual advances may get even more heated with time even after trying your best. So, you should naturally start looking out for job openings and consider organisations whose value are in synch with us.

File a legal action

Sexual harassment is a crime and unlawful. Seeking a redress in court is also another option to consider, especially when you have ample evidence.

The court may serve you justice through compensatory damages or punitive measures can also be meted out on the harasser.