How to Prevent Sexual Harassment

Co-authored by Collette Gee

Last Updated: December 29, 2022 References

Sexual harassment can involve any unwanted physical contact. It can also include exposing body parts, requesting sexual favors, showing graphic images, and making inappropriate comments and jokes. Managers need to create a harassment free workplace for employees by providing clear guidelines, adequate training, and unflinching enforcement. School administrators must provide the same for students and staff.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Creating a Harassment-Free Workplace

1
Write an anti-harassment policy. As an employer, you are liable for any sex discrimination that happens in the workplace. Under Title VII, this includes sexual harassment as well as sexist and transphobic behavior.^{[1]
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Trustworthy Source
US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
U.S. government agency that enforces civil rights in the workplace
Go to source} The best way to protect your employees from sexual harassment, and yourself from liability, is to prevent it.
- Get together with human resources, union leaders, and write a firm policy banning sexual harassment. Make it clear that management holds itself responsible for preventing sexual harassment within the company.
- Define sexual harassment broadly. Prohibit illegal sexual discrimination; unwelcome advances; requests for sexual favors; and any verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature in the workplace.
- Ban the requirement of submission to any sexual conduct as a term or condition of employment, or used as a basis for any employment decisions.
- Ban all behavior that has the purpose or effect of interfering with an individual's work performance, or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.
- Include examples of sexual harassment, but state that the list of examples is not intended to be all-inclusive.
- Review Title VII and state law to make sure that you are including all applicable behaviors.
2
Lay out clear protocol for responding to harassment. Within your anti-harassment policy, make the steps for reporting sexual harassment clear. Your policy must encourage victims of sexual harassment to report the behavior. Authorize and identify several appropriate to receive harassment complaints.
- Your employees should have several options of individuals to report sexual harassment to, as this will help prevent them from, for example, having to report to their harasser or a close friend of their harasser.
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3
Train your employees to prevent and report sexual harassment. Give everyone a copy of the policy. The sexual harassment prevention policy should be in the employee handbook, should be emailed to every employee, and should be reviewed during annual anti-discrimination trainings.
- Give frequent trainings. Train supervisors and all levels of management to spot, prevent, and punish sexual harassment and sex discrimination. Train employees in the correct steps to report sexual harassment.
- Follow state requirements, which are variable.
4
Include examples your employees might not recognize. Employees need to understand that any form of sexual attention or behavior, as well as any form of sexist or transphobic behavior, is considered sex discrimination and could get them fired. Let them know, for instance, that men are liable if they harass men, not just women, that women are liable if they harass men or women, and that even compliments can feel like harassment if they are given the wrong way.
- Explain that any workplace pressure that employees comply with gender norms is sex harassment under Title VII^{[2]
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  Trustworthy Source
  US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
  U.S. government agency that enforces civil rights in the workplace
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- Therefore, it is forbidden to tell a woman she does not act feminine enough, a man that he does not act masculine enough, or a transgender individual that his or her appearance or chosen pronoun is unacceptable.
- Explain that as an employer, you are even sometimes liable if a vendor or client sexually harasses your employees.
- Tell them that when in doubt, they should talk to HR or to you.
5
Monitor your workplace. Check for signs of harassment at all levels of your company. Eliminate any discriminatory jokes, signs, or cartoons that you see. Confront employees who are engaging in inappropriate behavior. If you think a co-worker is being harassed, encourage the victim to talk about it and to take immediate action to stop it.^{[3]
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- If you witness an incident of sexual harassment or find yourself within an offensive environment, take steps to resolve the harassment or co-file with the victim.
6
Enforce the policy without exceptions. When a complaint arises, or when you witness harassment, immediately investigate and deal with the situation. Discipline company members who harass other employees. Protect and support employees experiencing harassment.^{[4]
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- You should have a no-tolerance policy on repeat offenders, or for cases of egregious harassment or assault.
- Make it clear that no level of management is exempt from complying with the policy.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Responding to Workplace Sexual Harassment

1
Recognize sexual harassment at work. Under Title VII, sexual harassment tends to fall into two categories: quid pro quo, and hostile environment. Quid pro quo is when you are expected to tolerate sexual harassment in return for a promotion, and assignment, or just to keep your job. This often comes from a boss, but it can come from other employees as long as they have some degree of power or are supported by someone in power.^{[5]
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- Hostile work environment harassment does not explicitly or implicitly effect your job security, but that nonetheless affects your work performance and creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.
- Legally, an incident need only happen once to be considered quid pro quo harassment. However, hostile environment harassment must occur repeatedly unless the behavior in question is exceptionally blatant (such as sexual assault or unwanted touching).
- Both forms of harassment can happen to one individual or to several, and can come from one individual or several. It can come from co-workers or supervisors, men or women, and it can be verbal, physical, or both.
- Both forms of harassment are illegal.
2
Record incidents of workplace sexual harassment. Take notes and keep record of any sexual harassment that occurs. Write down the time and place of each incident, what each person said or did, and who witnessed the interaction. Save evidence of harassment: if you receive inappropriate emails or notes, save them.^{[6]
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- Review your workplace sexual harassment policy. Follow it, unless your workplace does not have one.
3
Confront if you feel safe. If you feel safe talking directly with the person or people harassing you, do so face to face. Explain that their attention or behavior is bothering you. Name it, and describe it. Finally, ask them to stop.^{[7]
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- You might say "I am not comfortable with your behavior since you asked me out. I said no, and I tried to be nice about it because we are coworkers, but the fact that you have continued to hint that you would like to see me outside of work makes me feel pressured. I want you to stop."
- Or say "I need you to understand that the jokes about my clothes and my sexual orientation have got to stop. I hate them. I don't want anyone speculating on my personal life, and I don't want you to use me as a prop in your jokes. Do you understand?"
- If you do not feel safe talking to your harasser, go directly to your supervisor or HR department.
4
Report at work. If you confront your harasser, tell your supervisor about the behavior and the fact that you have addressed it. If you do not, go directly to your supervisor or your company's human resources department. Tell them you do not feel safe confronting your harasser, and tell them why not.^{[8]
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- Make sure to tell your supervisor as soon as you have talked to your harasser, in case your harasser takes steps to retaliate against you.
5
File a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. If you think you have a Title VII claim, file a discrimination complaint with the EEOC within 180 days of the harassment. You do not need an attorney to file the complaint.^{[9]
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Trustworthy Source
US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
U.S. government agency that enforces civil rights in the workplace
Go to source} Once you have filed your complaint, the EEOC will notify your employer and begin an investigation.^{[10]
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- They will either attempt to settle the complaint with a mediator, dismiss the case, or file a lawsuit in federal court.
- If they are unable to file a charge or reach a settlement, they will give you a right-to-sue letter. You can request a right-to-sue letter if you wish to sue before the EEOC investigation is concluded.
- You are legally protected from retaliation for filing a discrimination charge, testifying, or otherwise participating in an investigation, proceeding, or litigation under Title VII.
- Check your state protections as well. Some states offer even stronger protections than Title VII.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Preventing Sexual Harassment Everywhere

1
Create a harassment-free secondary school culture. Train teachers to address inappropriate comments by students. Use the resources offered by your Title IV coordinator to train staff and disseminate information among all employees of the school. With teachers and your title IV administrator, create guidelines for students to recognize and report harassment on campus.
- Include these guidelines in the student handbook, and have guest speakers visit classes.
- Get parents involved. Hold after-school meetings to educate parents about sexual harassment and its harmful effects.
- Reward student assertiveness. Encourage students to speak up when they experience or witness sexual harassment. Take any complainant seriously.
- Take seriously complaints about teachers in sexually harassing students.
2
Prevent sexual harassment on campus. Along with taking the measures suggested for workplace and high school harassment prevention, students should be educated about their rights. Students should file a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights if their harassment is not being taken seriously by administrators, or if they are forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement in order to report harassment.^{[11]
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3
Insist on respect from friends and partners. Sexual harassment is any unwanted sexual or sex-discriminatory behavior. It doesn't just happen in the workplace.^{[12]
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- Explain how you feel to your other friends. Listen to how they feel.
- If your friends persist in disrespecting you, refuse to hang out with them.

Expert Q&A
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Question

What should I do if someone is harassing me at a bar?

Collette Gee
Relationship Coach & Certified Violence Prevention Specialist
Collette Gee is a Relationship Coach, Certified Violence Prevention Specialist, the Author of "Finding Happily… No Rules, No Frogs, No Pretending." Focusing on creating meaningful romantic relationships, Collette uses her experience having worked in the mental health industry as a psych nurse to conduct relationship coaching, online courses, and workshops to help women and men find lasting love. Prior to Collette's coaching business, she worked in the mental health field as a psych nurse which has helped inform her practice to create and sustain happy, healthy meaningful romantic relationships. Her work has been featured on TLC, London Live, the Huffington Post, and CNN.

Collette Gee

Relationship Coach & Certified Violence Prevention Specialist

Expert Answer

Support wikiHow by unlocking this expert answer.

Walk away from them and find a group of people you feel safe with. If they keep bothering you, let the bartender or someone else who works there know.