Sexual harassment victims often face termination, retaliation

On Behalf of | Jul 5, 2022 | Sexual Harassment

When someone sexually harasses you in your Colorado place of employment, you may decide to call attention to the treatment you received by reporting it. You have a right to do so without fearing adverse treatment in return. However, many sexual harassment victims who do report the treatment they receive wind up facing more hardships after making their claims.

According to The Mercury News, the vast majority, or about 99.8%, of workers who experience on-the-job sexual harassment never make formal reports of what they experience. However, when they do, they often face retaliation, termination or both within about one year of doing so.

Sexual harassment victims and termination

A study of about 46,000 sexual harassment allegations filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission within a four-year stretch showed that the majority of claimants had their employers fire after doing so. About 64% of all sexual harassment victims who reported their treatment lost their jobs within a year of making their reports.

Sexual harassment victims and retaliation

Experiencing retaliation after making a sexual harassment claim is even more common. Studies show that almost 70%, or 68%, of employees who reported sexual harassment at work faced retaliation afterward. Retaliation manifests in many different forms. You may experience retaliation if your employer demotes you or starts paying you less after reporting sexual harassment. If your employer starts verbally or physically harassing or abusing you in any manner, this may, too, constitute retaliation, among other examples.

Your chance of experiencing sexual harassment at work, and termination or retaliation in the aftermath, is also higher if you are a female, rather than male, employee.