Sexual harassment is a crime that plagues academic institutions and workplaces. Although the problem is widespread, it seems that a lack of information (largely due to the fact that the issue has been ignored and incidents are under reported) helps account for the deficit in knowledge people have about this serious issue. The Supreme Court did not uphold a sexual harassment charge until 1986, in the case of Meritor Savings v. Vinson, where it ruled for the first time that s

From the research above, one can draw many conclusions about the numerous aspects of sexual harassment. Although policies and laws have come a long way in the fight against sexual harassment, there are additional steps that need to be taken by employees, employers, and legislation to combat sexual harassment in the workplace. It is crucial that employees do not ignore harassment. Silence is a way of condoning behaviors. Taking action will increase awareness and remind people that sexual harassment is a crime and is intolerable. For employers, it is simply not enough to adopt a sexual harassment policy. It should specifically accommodate to the employees of the particular organization, it also has to be followed and enforced by the employer (Petrocelli and Repa, p. 5). It is so important for the employer to eliminate the proverbial “glass ceiling” because sexual harassment thrives on women’s inferior status (Bravo and Cassedy, p. 139).

The firm that employs the harasser and allowed the harassment to occur in their workplace can face tremendous consequences. With the media today, it is hard to keep anything scandalous a secret. The company may acquire a poor reputation once the public knows about the harassment incidents. This leads to further problems such as loss of patronization of the business, problems recruiting potential employees or retraining current ones, and loss of employee loyalty (Bravo and Cassedy, p. 51). Another huge consequence for the company that is most widely recognized is the financial costs of sexual harassment. A 1988 survey concluded that typical Fortune 500 companies suffered losses of $6.7 million a year because of sexual harassment cases, and this figure is independent from lawsuits (Bravo and Cassedy, p. 49). This only includes the monetary losses due to employee absenteeism, decline in productivity, and turnover. When the legal fees and monetary awards are factored in, this amount skyrockets. Due to their lack of power and limited financial resources, small businesses are hit even harder when charges are brought against them (Bravo and Cassedy, p. 50).

A clear definition of sexual harassment helps make it easier to recognize and harder for people to doubt their feelings, observations and experiences. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, an agency that enforces laws regarding discrimination in employment, defines sexual harassment as:

State laws act as supplements to federal laws. These laws often provide even more protection from harassment than federal laws to. For instance, New York State laws provided recovery of damages even before the Civil Rights Act of 1991 was enacted (Colatosti and Karg, p. 67). However, some states have no statutes regarding sexual harassment.

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