It’s totally worth it. While you might not get financial compensation for reporting sexual harassment at a previous job (if it’s been more than a year since the last such incident), speaking up if you or the perpetrator no longer work at the company where the harassment took place could make a huge difference in today’s world.
Here’s the deal, our sexual harassment attorneys at JML Law explain: estimations reveal that one of every three women has experienced sexual harassment at work at some point in their career.
Fact: a staggering 71 to 75 percent of women choose to not speak out about sexual harassment at work.
Reasons, why victims of sexual misconduct at work remain silent about such incidents, are shame, denial, fear of retaliation, and fear of not being believed. Another gloomy nationwide statistic is that most sexual harassment complaints filed with HR departments go unnoticed or never lead to any punitive actions against the harasser.
‘Once a harasser, always a harasser
Our Los Angeles sexual harassment lawyers say, “Once a harasser, always a harasser.” Despite filmmakers, actors, producers, CEOs, politicians, and other influential people showing remorse after being accused of sexual misconduct, 90% of them will keep harassing women no matter how sorry they say they are.
Do you know what it means for all the women who (unfortunately) have to encounter your employer or coworker who sexually harassed or abused them at your previous job? That means months or years of suffering, mental issues, acute stress, depression, anxiety, and even post-traumatic stress disorder.
Bolstered by the recent wave of sexual harassment revelations – when hundreds of powerful men have been brought down like a house of cards in the past two months, and the momentum still remains strong – an increasing number of women have mustered up the courage to come forward and speak out about being sexually harassed at their previous job.
And this makes a huge difference for all the employees or co-workers who will have to work with your harasser, groper, or abuser if he goes unpunished. Even if you or the perpetrator no longer work at the company where sexual harassment occurred, notifying the HR department of the company where the harasser is currently employed will help protect and lives of hundreds or thousands of women who are currently working with him and will be working with him down the road.
Scary danger of letting the harasser off the hook
By choosing to remain silent, you basically do your harasser a favor and enable him to continue his disgusting and illegal behavior.
Filing a sexual harassment complaint or pursuing legal action against the perpetrator may not be possible if the last incident of inappropriate behavior on the part of the harasser took place more than 12 months ago. That means you won’t be able to obtain your well-deserved financial compensation for being harassed at work.
However, our sexual harassment attorneys insist that coming forward and speaking up could help protect the women he works with now and will work with if you give him a free pass.
By alerting the HR department of your previous job or the department of the company where the perpetrator is currently employed, you can help other women find strength and speak out against him as well.
What are the risks of reporting sexual harassment
The more women you get onboard to speak out with you, the stronger your case will be.
Similarly, the more hard evidence of sexual harassment you have – emails, videos, pictures, text messages, voicemails, witness accounts, etc. – the bigger the chance to end the harasser’s career and prevent him from hurting more women.
However, our Los Angeles sexual harassment lawyers warn that even though the statute of limitations does not allow you to file a lawsuit if the last incident took place more than a year ago, the perpetrator may still be able to take legal action against you and other women alleging sexual harassment for defamation.
But that shouldn’t discourage you if you’re telling the truth, have solid evidence, witnesses, and other victims onboard with you, and, more importantly, are represented by an experienced sexual harassment attorney.
Consult our sexual harassment attorneys at JML Law, a reputable Los Angeles-based firm with over 35 years of experience navigating sex misconduct claims in the workplace, to find out more about your rights.
Call our offices at 818-610-8800 or send an email to schedule a free initial consultation and learn about your best legal options. We respect your right to confidentiality.
