While working together offers numerous benefits, the gathering together of different people in a small setting day after day can also cause problems, particularly if personalities clash. Although physical confrontations such as fights may be relatively rare in the modern workplace verbal altercations are much more common, and such altercations can be sexual in nature. Sexual harassment is a disruptive force that affects morale across an entire workplace and can cause serious psychological damage to those affected.  If you are a victim of sexual harassment, you should speak up. Federal law, state law and sometimes even local law gives you the right to be free from sexual harassment at work. If your right is violated, you can take action and you should.

How Common is Sexual Harassment?

Understanding just how frequently sexual harassment occurs requires an understanding of what actually constitutes sexual harassment. Often, sexual harassment takes the form of offensive comments or unwanted touching related to a person’s gender. But that is not the only way sexual harassment can occur. According to the United States Equal Opportunity Commission, sexual harassment could include unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or making offensive comments about a person’s sex in general.

Not every instance of offensive offhand remarks or inappropriate comments constitutes sexual harassment, however. To qualify as sexual harassment, the behavior must reach a level of an “adverse employment decision,” such as denial of a promotion or job offer, or be of such severity or frequency that  it creates a “hostile work environment.” Even with this high standard, sexual harassment is not uncommon; the federal government reported the filing and resolution of nearly 11,400 sexual harassment complaints in 2011. While still a serious problem, this number was down from 1997, when there were about 15,900 filings. Of course, due to the sensitive nature of this issue and factors such as the concern for retaliation, it is likely that these statistics fail to recognize the full extent of sexual harassment. In addition, failure to recognize what constitutes sexual harassment can also result in under-reporting.

Is Sexual Harassment Against the Law?

Sexual harassment is not a tolerable practice in the workplace, and it tends to not only be against explicit company policy, but also against the law. Specifically, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a federal law, prohibits discrimination based on sex, and sexual harassment qualifies as such. The reach of Title VII extends to all employers with at least 15 employees, meaning that the vast majority of workplaces are subject to the requirements of Title VII.

In addition, state sexual harassment law tends to cover at least as many employers as the federal body of sexual harassment law. Additionally, local laws may also bar sexual harassment. For example, for a workplace in Manhattan, not only does the Civil Rights Act apply, but New York State Human Rights Law and the New York City Administrative Code could all work to protect an individual from sexual harassment, with such harassment potentially actionable as a violation of all three sources of law.

What to Do if You Experience Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment can take many forms – from obvious physical groping and other types of unwanted touching to lewd propositions and frequent inappropriate sex-based comments. If you think you may have experienced sexual harassment, it is important to speak with a superior at work. Additionally, you should speak with an attorney for sexual harassment so that you can get a clearer understanding of whether or not you have been sexually harassed under the law and what your options are for addressing the problem. An attorney outside of your company can provide a neutral, objective perspective and offer discreet advice if you are uncomfortable discussing the situation with anyone at your workplace.