No one wants to be the victim of sexual harassment, but you could find yourself in this position. If this happens at work, it’s critical to take immediate action.
In addition to telling the harasser to stop, report the incident to your human resources (HR) department. This is an important step to take, even if you’ve only been the victim of harassment one time.
Here are some tips to follow when reporting sexual harassment:
- Talk to the right person: You don’t want to talk to just any person in the HR department. You want to talk to the person who handles these types of reports. For example, the HR director or HR manager is a good place to start.
- Provide all the information you have: For example, if you have proof of the harassment, such as an email from your harasser, print it out and share it with your HR contact.
- Follow up: Once you learn what the HR department plans to do, ask them for a timeline. At the end of this period, if you’ve yet to hear anything, follow up to see where their investigation stands.
It’s your hope that reporting the instance of sexual harassment to your HR department is enough to bring an end to the problem. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always happen, especially if your HR department isn’t serious about taking action.
If you don’t get the answer you’re looking for, learn more about your legal rights. You should never simply hope for the best when it comes to sexual harassment, as you’re putting yourself in an awkward and potentially dangerous situation.