Sexual harassment may do more than make you uncomfortable in your Minnesota place of employment. It may also have devastating effects on you mentally and emotionally. This may prove particularly true if you neglect to tell anyone about it.
You have a right to call attention to sexual harassment when it happens in the workplace. However, Mercury News reports that many victims fail to do so because they are fearful of the possible repercussions. Recent research about sexual harassment in the American workplace reveals that many people who come forward have their employers fire them or retaliate against them afterward.
Termination
Research shows that 64% of the more than 46,000 people who filed sexual harassment claims against their employers between 2012 and 2016 had their employers fire them within one year of speaking out. This may factor into why so many victims never report sexual harassment they experience, with an estimated 99.8% of instances of sexual harassment never coming to light.
Retaliation
While many who experience sexual harassment face termination in the aftermath, even more face some type of workplace retaliation. Research shows that almost 70% of those who make such claims face retaliation after doing so. Retaliation takes on many forms, but if your employer cuts your hours, gives you less favorable duties or otherwise treats you differently after you make your claim, any of these scenarios may count as retaliation.
Risk factors
Studies show that you face a higher chance of experiencing workplace sexual harassment as a woman than a man. If you are a woman working in transportation, mining, warehousing or technology, you also face a heightened chance of experiencing sexual harassment at work.
