What Harassment Looks Like

A woman was recorded (with her knowledge and consent) for ten hours of walking city streets.  During that time, she received more than 100 catcalls or other forms of unwanted attention or harassment.  This short clip shows some of what she was subjected to – and what women everywhere are subjected to on a regular basis.

The article mentions that 70-99% of all women have been harassed in this way at some point in their lives.  I certainly have, and I don’t know any woman who hasn’t.  These kinds of actions can take place for very young girls as well as retired seniors and certainly all ages in between.  No one deserves to be harassed in this way.

How does your company approach unwanted attention, inappropriate comments, and episodes of harassment?  Do you have policies and training to prevent just actions?  Do you have a formal procedure for filing a complaint?  Who can initiate that complaint (the “victim” only or any observer)?  Is the complaint handled seriously, or are you really just checking a box to say you’ve done what you had to do?  How public is the investigative process?  (While you don’t want to drag someone’s name through the mud, it can be helpful to learn if others have similar complaints towards that person – or that they saw what happened and disagree with how it was perceived.)  Are all parties involved given time to share their perspective on what happened?  Who ensures complaints are dealt with in a way that satisfies the complainer?  How are others in the company educated when something occurs that negatively impacts a coworker?

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