Sexual harassment includes offensive or pervasive conduct in the workplace related to a person’s sex that negatively affects a reasonable person’s employment. Unfortunately, sexual harassment is common in workplaces throughout the United States.
Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII is a federal law that prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, and religion, and it applies to employers with 15 or more employees, including federal, state, and local governments. Retaliation against someone who complains of sexual harassment or participates in an investigation involving sexual harassment is also illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
Generally, there are two established, legally prohibited types of sexual harassment:
Quid pro quo: Compliance or noncompliance with a sexual demand is used as the basis of an employment decision.
Hostile work environment: An employee is subject to unwelcome verbal or physical sexual behavior, including requests for sexual favors and other conduct of a sexual nature that is either so severe or pervasive that it adversely affects her or his ability to do work.
The vast majority of sexual harassment cases involve female workers who have been harassed by male co-workers or supervisors, but sexual harassment of men also occurs. In 2007, of the 12,510 complaints of sexual harassment made to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 16 percent were filed by men. Unfortunately, there continues to be a lack of information surrounding this type of harassment as men are less likely than women to report this type of behavior.
AAUW believes that all people deserve a safe, welcoming, and harassment-free work environment.
