Allegations of sexual harassment and assault have hit the newsalmost daily over the last several weeks, with fingers pointing atHollywood “A-Listers,” corporate executives,politicians, journalists, etc., etc., etc.
Many of the allegations have been raised years, or even decades,after the harassment allegedly occurred. Why have the victims, bothmen and women, waited so long to come forward? Many reportedly wereafraid that coming forward would be career-ending. By remainingsilent, those victims internalized the harm, and, in some cases,continued to endure further harassment by the same perpetrators.Their silence also may have enabled the perpetrators to harassother victims.
The Fear of retaliation
In the “real world,” beyond Hollywood and Capitol Hill, how cancompanies eliminate the fear of retaliation that deters victims ofharassment from coming forward immediately? Perhaps it’s time toreexamine the complaint mechanism in the typical anti-harassment policy found in employeehandbooks.
Most complaint mechanisms are multi-tiered, meaning that thecomplaining party is told to voice concerns to his/her immediatesupervisor, human resources (particularly if the supervisor is thealleged perpetrator), or another management official. Manyhandbooks also include “open door” policies that invite employeesto stop-by an executive’s office at any time to talk about anything(and that anything could include allegations of harassment).
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