The Daily Record, April 26, 2004

Sexual Harassment Trend: Prompt Response To Complaints Required - By Lindy Korn, Esq.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 86 percent of 17 year old students have a job for at least part of the year, and by age 19, that figure goes up to 91 percent. The University of Minnesota recently conducted a survey and found that one in three young Minnesota women in their earliest jobs, greet the issue of sexual harassment. Girls as young as 14 had stories of lewd jokes, suggestive propositions and physical assault. Young men were not exempt: one in seven also reported sexual harassment. Among the high school girls, only half told anyone about the bad treatment; one third of the boys did. The survey was of 700 Minnesotans ages 14-26. (University of Maine sociologists Christopher Uggen, and Amy Blackstone co-wrote the study). Additionally, 150 Minnesota women and girls listed sexual harassment as one of the top five reasons their work goals got derailed, in a 2001 survey by the Women’s Foundation.

Some of the narratives read as follows:

• A 16-year-old female worked her first job behind the counter of a fast food restaurant in a small Minnesota town. Some of the guys enjoyed sharing the details of their sexual encounters. Her boss drank his coffee from a mug shaped like a woman's breast. "I felt creeped out, violated in a way I couldn't even have described at the time."
• At a summer job for an energy company, an 18-year-old female worker was cornered by an older male employee who rubbed himself against her. When she reported it to her boss, he said she was making it up, or else she must have provoked it, and in any case she had to learn to just "blow this stuff off."
• A recent high school female graduate worked at a cinema in a small town in Nebraska and her 40-something manager always assigned her to wash the glass doors to the lobby. "I thought it was because I did a good job," but her co-workers told her that the boss would say "he liked the way she looks when she's turned around and bending." She subsequently left that job.
• An 18-year-old female worked behind a service counter in a department store, and the opportunity for a security position became available, which was a better paying job. Her supervisor told her she could get the job if she would go out with him. She declined the date and did not get the job.

The results of this study are not surprising, based on the disparity of power, the need to make a living and pay for college—issues that many young people face. It has been my experience that many young people do not complain about inappropriate sexually harassing conduct because they are dependent on the paycheck, and because they fear retaliation if their manager is the subject of an investigation.

Sexual harassment is about power and the abuse of power; therefore, young persons are a natural target due to their lack of experience and their financial vulnerability. The psychological effect of working in a hostile environment may be devastating for those new to the workplace, and serves to keep sexual harassment complaints a secret.

Zero tolerance of sexually hostile environments must begin with a safe complaint procedure that is user friendly such as a toll free hotline, that can be accessed anywhere an employee is most comfortable reporting. Prompt response to such complaints is required and may create trust among employees who follow workplace policies.