To prove gender-based harassment in the workplace, keep a record of incidents or solicit witnesses. Report harassment to a supervisor and request a written report. Types of harassment include quid pro quo and hostile work environments. Evidence can include emails, texts, notes, and witness statements.
The best way to prove gender-based harassment in the workplace is to keep a record of harassment incidents or solicit witnesses who may have seen inappropriate behavior. It’s also very helpful to set up clear documentation; a person experiencing harassment should report it to a supervisor and request a written report, so this information will be available if the problem arises in the future. People may also find it helpful to warn other coworkers of the problem and ask them for help.
Gender-based harassment can include a variety of activities, all of which involve making a person feel uncomfortable because of that person’s gender or gender. Some examples might include inappropriately touching women in the workplace, making offensive comments to transgender employees about their bodies, or pressuring a co-worker or subordinate to engage in sexual activity. The two most common types of gender-based harassment in the workplace are harassment qui pro quo and harassment in hostile work environments.
In cases of quid pro quo, someone suggests that another person will receive special treatment or benefits in exchange for allowing intimate contact. For example, a supervisor might promise a promotion to an employee who agrees to go on an appointment. Harassment in a hostile work environment involves situations where a person feels uncomfortable at work with abusive language, verbal taunting or unwanted physical contact.
Sometimes, workplace gender-based harassment comes in the form of things like phone calls, emails, text messages, or notes. These are easy to use as evidence because the victim can hold on to them. Before handing them over to a supervisor, it’s a good idea to make copies. If an abuser doesn’t leave a convenient paper trail, an employee could create one. A transgender employee who receives inappropriate comments about her genitals might, for example, email the offender, copied to a supervisor, saying she feels uncomfortable with the comments and wants them to stop. This creates clear documentation of an incident and alerts a supervisor to the problem.
People experiencing gender-based harassment in the workplace may also seek witnesses to provide evidence. If someone is engaging in harassing behavior, the victim can ensure that other people are present during interpersonal interactions so that another person will be present if the perpetrator does something inappropriate. When witnesses are present during an incident, the victim can ask them to write down what they saw and can use that as evidence when preparing to file a complaint or take a workplace gender harassment matter to court.
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