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Sexual harassment victims often face termination, retaliation

On Behalf of | Jul 13, 2021 | sexual harassment |

Having to deal with sexual harassment at your Pennsylvania place of business is bad enough. Yet, research shows that many victims of workplace sexual harassment also face retaliation or termination after reporting the behavior. This is among the many reasons why you may be hesitant to report sexual harassment you experienced, but failing to shine a light on the problem may allow it to continue.

Per Mercury News, the vast majority of victims of workplace sexual harassment never come forward about the behavior.

Sexual harassment claim statistics

A study of more than 46,000 sexual harassment claims filed by employees between 2012 and 2016 revealed that 68% of claimants faced some type of workplace retaliation within one year of making their reports. Another 64% of claimants lost their jobs within a year. Those who did file formal claims with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission rarely secured monetary awards after doing so. Only 23% of those who made formal claims received monetary awards in the aftermath.

Sexual harassment trends

Your chance of experiencing sexual harassment in your place of business is higher if you are female. While females comprise 47% of the workforce, they make 81% of sexual harassment claims. You also face an elevated risk of experiencing workplace sexual harassment when you make your living in certain industries, including transportation, warehousing or mining and oil, among others.

The “Me Too” movement has shown that workplace sexual harassment is more common than many might like to believe. Whether the movement has a significant impact on the number of sexual harassment claims filed by American employees is not yet clear.