Too many victims of sexual harassment in the workplace keep quiet because they know their employer’s top leadership structures are unlikely to take them seriously or offer any report. Instead, they continue enduring this treatment or seek alternative employment.
Now that sexual harassment is no longer a taboo topic, and victims are encouraged to speak out, several disturbing stories about how they were treated show that companies have a long way to go in providing employees with effective help. Here are ideas for leaders to support sexual harassment victims:
Implement sexual harassment policies
Not enough companies have clear-cut sexual harassment policies, according to many sexual harassment attorneys listed on USAttorneys.com. Others have guidelines in place, but they are vague and fail to clarify the roles and responsibilities of employers and employees. Instead, they adopt an ad hoc approach and only deal with these matters when a complaint makes it far enough up the food chain to gain senior management’s attention.
Sexual harassment should have a standalone policy or have a substantial chapter of a company’s disciplinary code of conduct devoted to it. Definitive procedures for filing complaints, reviewing alleged incidents, punitive measures, and sanctions for sexual harassment perpetrators should be included. It is not enough to have these systems in place as companies should also communicate them to employees in no uncertain terms, adopting a zero-tolerance approach to such misconduct.
Treat all complaints as serious
Many company managers express confusion about how seriously they should take sexual harassment claims as some employees have made them up in the past. However, the percentage of false allegations is minuscule compared with genuine complaints. Therefore, management should work on the assumption that a complainant is not lying.
When sexual harassment policies are well-defined, thorough investigations into each incident will reveal the truth, and complainants who abuse a company’s sexual harassment guidelines should face disciplinary action. However, management should err on the side of caution and act swiftly on an alleged victim’s behalf on the presumption they are truthful.
Offer support to victims
Sexual harassment is traumatic for victims, and their mental health could consequently suffer. Therefore, employers should provide relevant resources, such as counseling and therapy, via employee wellness programs. Accessible support structures help an employee deal with what happened.
Employers must stress the confidentiality of any interactions a victim has with counselors and therapists. This information cannot form part of a sexual harassment complaint without the victim’s express consent. These sessions are to help an employee overcome their experience and should not form part of an investigation.
Supply training
Prevention is better than cure, and companies with robust sexual harassment policies tend to experience fewer incidents. Therefore, employers can help workers avoid becoming victims by informing employees about their sexual harassment policies and providing the necessary training.
Many employees do not realize that their conduct constitutes sexual harassment. Indoctrination with sexist societal norms and practices prevents them from seeing that what they do or say is inappropriate. Biannual sexual harassment training for employees and management teaches everyone about sexual harassment and how to deal with it.
Adopt a new mindset
Once leadership structures in companies accept that sexual harassment and violence are prevalent in workplaces and their organization is not immune to them, they can take a more sensitive approach to the matter. Management must be seen preventing and addressing sexual harassment to create a supportive environment where employees feel safe to report incidents.
Putting sexual harassment under the spotlight and not treating it in a hush-hush manner indicates a company’s commitment to eradicating it. It also shows perpetrators that their actions are unacceptable and there will be consequences for them.