Sexual Harassment Can Happen… Anywhere

If you think sexual harassment occurs only in certain types of businesses or workplaces, think again.

I am always surprised that some people think that workplace sexual harassment occurs only in certain types of businesses or workplaces.

But we know that workplace sexual harassment can happen anywhere, anytime, and to anyone – there is no exempt place or person.

Of course, compliant and savvy employers can minimize the chances of it happening (and its attendant potential for enormous liability) by having a zero-tolerance discrimination and harassment policy, clearly set forth in employee manuals and reflected in the behavior of its senior managers, and by conducting periodic anti-harassment training for all.

But in the end, it is up to individual employers and employees to prevent harassment, and to report it promptly if it occurs.

And occur it does – in all types of workplaces and businesses, as we shall see.

Sexual Harassment In The Library

Amy Carlton, in the American Libraries blog, just wrote that patrons of libraries do not always stick to reading. One librarian reported on “the treatment she received from a few patrons—unwanted attention, inappropriate personal questions—and how it was affecting her life outside of work.… That’s when she decided to say something.”

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And she not only said something, but developed a program that “stressed that sexual harassment is not limited to women, and that people of color and LGBTQ people experience higher rates of harassment, often combined with racism, homophobia, or transphobia.”

As I’ve written before, a power imbalance between people in the workplace is often at work: our librarian said that “Underage staff and volunteers are also at particular risk.”

This article, although focused on libraries – or perhaps because it is focused on libraries — is a good read for those who underestimate the frequency of harassment, or how and why it occurs.

Sexual Harassment In Medicine

Guitelle St. Victor, Christina L. Wichman, and Namitha Malakkla, of the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine, discuss in the Psychiatric Times sexual harassment’s “prevalence among physicians and medical students,” as well as “its potential impact on physicians and trainees.”

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They report that “Sexual harassment appears to be common during medical training.… 59.4% of medical trainees, including medical students, interns, and residents in all specialties, had experienced some form of harassment.”

Notice the ever-present workplace power differential?

One survey discussed found that “About 77% of women did not report the harassment because they were not confident it would help, and 82% of men felt they could deal with the problem with no outside help. Women also reported fear of retaliation and feelings of shame and guilt. Other reasons were fear of not being believed, embarrassment, lack of trust in authority figures, and lack of familiarity with available resources.”

The results of this survey are strikingly consistent with those I’ve seen conducted in various other workplaces as to why people do not report sexual harassment: fear of not being believed, lack of confidence in the complaint process, and fear of retaliation.

Sexual Harassment… In The Morgue??

Can this be?

Phil Ferolito in the Yakima Herald described a new lawsuit in Washington State by a female employee against the County Coroner for allegedly making “unwanted advances, such as rubbing her shoulders, hugging and kissing her and blocking her movement.”

Let’s not think about the venue of this alleged behavior.

The Usual Suspects: “Testosterone-Fueled Tech Culture” And More

The big news these days (besides Uber) seems to be the public apology and resignation of the co-founder of a venture capital firm, “against a backdrop of increasing complaints about inappropriate workplace behavior in Silicon Valley’s testosterone-fueled tech culture,” writes Marisa Kendall of Bay Area News Group.

She noted that “Sexual harassment has haunted Silicon Valley for years. Sixty percent of women in tech reported receiving unwanted sexual advances in the workplace … [which] can be especially troubling because of the power dynamics at play.”

The VC founder issued a public and seemingly thoughtful mea culpa: “It is outrageous and unethical for any person to leverage a position of power in exchange for sexual gain … it is clear to me now that that is exactly what I’ve done.”

The nature of the apology sounds a familiar ring – but it is significant that the alleged harasser is the one saying it.

He couldn’t be more right.

Nonetheless, Kate Mitchell, a co-chair of the Diversity Task Force of the National Venture Capital Association, was quoted as saying that the allegations against him were only “the terrifying tip of the iceberg” in Silicon Valley; she worried more about “the behaviors that haven’t yet come to light — such as the more subtle sexist comments, or the networking events where male VCs neglect to invite their female colleagues.”

Rose Krebs writes in the Burlington County Times of a lawsuit filed by a former waitress against a diner owner who allegedly “sexually harassed her, showed her pornography, made sexually explicit comments to her and others, and wrongfully fired her after she was injured on the job” – she alleged that she “was scalded by boiling water from a teapot, and she was not permitted to leave to get medical attention.”

Wow.

And lastly, the EEOC just sued the largest U.S. grower of organic tree fruit, alleging that when a Latina tractor driver was the only female in that job position, her boss “drove her to a remote area and then proceeded to make sexually explicit comments, proposition her for sex, and attempted to kiss her. [She was] [t]rapped in a moving vehicle at an unfamiliar and remote location with no cell service. …”

The EEOC commented that farmworkers are “a group that is so often comprised of immigrant women working in isolated areas, [and] particularly vulnerable to sexual harassment.”

Takeaway

And so we come full circle.

From farm to Valley, from medical school to morgue, and from diner to library, “particularly vulnerable” employees are subjected to sexual harassment – “particularly vulnerable” when those in “a position of power” are able to “leverage” that position to exploit them.


richard-b-cohenRichard B. Cohen has litigated and arbitrated complex business and employment disputes for almost 40 years, and is a partner in the NYC office of the national “cloud” law firm FisherBroyles. He is the creator and author of his firm’s Employment Discrimination blog, and received an award from the American Bar Association for his blog posts. You can reach him at Richard.Cohen@fisherbroyles.com and follow him on Twitter at @richard09535496.