Rosie Grant's experience with sexual harassment suggests several things you should consider doing if you have been sexually harassed:
(1) Don't tolerate it! Don't allow anyone, especially your boss, to degrade or demean you in a sexual way. Talk about what happened, don't try to keep it secret . . . tell your friends and anyone who will listen. Tell your husband or boyfriend. Tell your parents. Everyone will not support you, and some will react with fear or negativity . . . tell them anyway! What the boss did to you was not your fault, only an indication that he has a problem. If you don't talk about it, his problem is never confronted, and he doesn't learn to stop. He'll do it again; either to you or to some other woman or man.
(2) Document everything! Start a journal and record the dates, witnesses and places involved in each incident. This information is crucial to filing your complaint, and will also help your lawyer organize facts for your lawsuit. Write down exact quotes of offensive the statements made to you, and the who, what where, when and how of each harassing incident. Save any notes, photos, recordings, writeups, disciplinary actions or videotapes relating to your case.
(3) Confront the harasser! Don't run, and never let him make you quit. The standard company response to a sexual harassment complaint is to cover for the harasser and transfer or fire the victim; some companies will try anything to remove her from the workplace. Stand your ground; confront him and in a calm and professional manner demand that he stop the offensive behavior. Tell him that the very next incident of sexual harassment will result in "a serious response". Don't threaten him, and don't explain what your "serious response" will be.
(4) Complain to your company! On the very next instance of offensive behavior, report all of his behavior to executives of the company. Following the "chain of command" when you complain benefits the company; not you. Follow the "chain of command" only as long as the company appears to be investigating your complaint thoroughly and without bias. The minute a link in the "chain of command" tries to cover up the harassment, give written notice of your complaint to the whole chain, from your manager's boss to the C.E.O. Put your complaint in writing; an oral complaint is not worth the paper it's written on! You can write dozens of letters to the company's head of Human Resources, regional managers and vice presidents, anyone you think will influence the case. Be careful about this decision, it could mean the end of your career with this company if you raise too much hell, too soon.
(5) Get a lawyer: If your company doesn't resolve your complaint in a way that is satisfactory to you, it's time to look for a lawyer. Ask friends and relatives to give you the name of a lawyer you can trust. Talk to several attorneys to find one you are comfortable working with. Find one who will take your case on a contingency basis, which means you will pay little money up front, and the attorney will take between 30% and 40% of any settlement you receive from the defendant. You can contact lawyers and get legal advice online at Nolo Press, Free Advice.com or Lawyers.com. Rosie Grant was very pleased with the work of Attorney Eric Steele, Esq. of Washington, D.C. (202) 842-4794.
(6) File a complaint with the E.E.O.C. Your attorney will help you file a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the government agency which tries to resolve sexual harassment cases before litigation. This process will take between one and two years, and the E.E.O.C. will either dismiss your case, file a lawsuit for you using government lawyers or give you the right to file suit against your company.
(7) File a lawsuit under Title VII: Your lawyer can now file a civil lawsuit on your behalf in local court; you will be responsible for paying the filing fees, which could come to a few hundred dollars. Be prepared to literally wait years before your case comes to trial; some lawsuits have been known to drag on for more than ten years, although most are settled long before that. Lawyers for both sides will call witnesses to take depositions; sworn statements which allow each side to know what the witnesses would say in court.
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