Men can be victims of sexual harassment

On Behalf of | May 30, 2017 | Harassment |

Sexual harassment is generally believed to occur when men request sexual favors, give unwanted advances, make unwelcome verbal comments or perform other acts of physical misconduct against female co-workers or employees. Yet what many people don’t realize is that men can also be victims of sexual harassment in the workplace. As women continue to move into positions of power in major corporations and business across the county, they are more likely to view their male subordinates or workers as fair game. In some situations, women do not believe they will be penalized for their actions, as many would not believe they were actually responsible for committing such a crime.

Just as in cases where women may be harassed by men, women superiors may ask men to stay late and perform sexual favors in order to move up in the company or to keep their current position.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reports that the number of men filing sexual harassment complaints is increasing at a significant rate. This agency which tracks sexual harassment claims found that 16.3 percent of complaints come from men, which has risen from 11 percent in 1997. These numbers do not distinguish between cases of harassment from men to men or women to men. Furthermore, the numbers are thought to be seriously underrated, as a number of men do not report acts of harassment. Men may feel embarrassed to report such incidents and are more likely to keep to themselves. Men may also be afraid that people would not believe their accusations if they do report these crimes to officials.

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