The Stigma of Talking About Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment has been ongoing and tolerated by women for centuries. It can be anything from overt sexual behavior like grabbing or touching to constant staring. In the state of California for anything that is not an overt, and dismissible action to be classed as sexual harassment, it has to be “constant and persistent”. But catching and reporting this kind of behaviour is one thing, recently it has become yet again even more difficult to talk about.

The stigma related to sexual harassment:

Recently with things like the #metoo movement and even big media shows like Greys Anatomy picking up on the hushed topic, sexual harassment had come to the forefront. Big Hollywood stars and prominent women in society are constantly coming forward about their experiences, yet there are still instances that show us how far we still have to go to put a stop to this behavior.

Lulabel Seitz, a high school valedictorian spoke about her struggles in her speech. About hard work and dedication, about how her immigrant family had made a home in the United States but when she spoke the words “Because the class of 2018 has demonstrated time and time again that we may be a new generation but we are not too young to speak up, to dream and to create change. Which is why, even when some people on this campus, those same people ….,” her microphone was immediately disconnected.

She was attempting to speak about her sexual harassment at school even though she was warned against it. Since she had recorded a video and put it online.

Sexual harassment, the statistics:

Roughly one in five Americans have reported being subjected to a form of sexual harassment in the workplace. The figure of men claiming to be affected by sexual harassment was substantially lower at ten percent than to women at 27 percent.

If we look at these numbers further sixteen percent of women aged 18 to 24 compared to 25 percent of 50 to 64-year-olds. This suggests that there is a strong change in the attitudes of men over the generations allowing for the events of sexual harassment to lessen.

“An encouraging signal from this data is that there are fewer reports of this sort of behavior among younger women,” said Micah Roberts, a Republican pollster and partner at Public Opinion Strategies”

The attitude of companies to sexual harassment, however, has shown to be very good. 74 percent of employees say that their companies take sexual harassment very seriously whereas only five percent say that their companies are not serious about the issue at all.

While sexual harassment can be a hurtful and disturbing event it is important to notify your company immediately. If you feel your company has not done enough to resolve the issue and it is still ongoing a Los Angeles sexual harassment lawyer is here to help. A Los Angeles sexual harassment lawyer will be there to help you fight for your rights and the justice you deserve. For a consultation with a lawyer contact our offices on 310-527-6994.