Have you ever found yourself at a loss as to what to do about a co-worker who is constantly making sexual advances towards you? If so, you’re in luck because we’ve got a solution: create a betting pool on who the next person to be charged with sexual harassment will be. While this might sound like an odd suggestion, it’s actually quite an effective one, especially if you’re running out of ideas on how to handle the situation. Before we get into the nitty-gritty on how to create a betting pool, let’s first establish some context for the situation.
The Need For A Solution
When we think about harassment and assault, we typically imagine a man harassing a woman. While this is certainly a problem that affects both genders, it’s quite clear that the majority of cases involving harassment and assault happen to women. One in four American women will experience some form of sexual harassment in her lifetime, and one in three will experience some type of physical violence at the hands of a man.
Since men are more likely to harass and assault women, it stands to reason that if we want to solve the issue, we need to focus on the women who are affected by it most. It’s important to note that not all men are like this, and it’s certainly possible to have a positive relationship with your male colleague even if they are a bit of a jerk sometimes. In cases where both genders are involved, this really comes down to the man treating the woman with respect.
If you find yourself in a situation where a co-worker is making crude and offensive comments about your body or sex life, it might be time to sit down and have a chat with your manager or human resources about creating a formal complaint. Depending on the severity of the situation, you might also want to consult a lawyer. While this might be a lengthy process, it’s worth it if you want to ensure that you’re treated with respect and that the right actions are taken to prevent any further harassment.
The thing is, not all harassment complaints lead to lawsuits, and even if they do, it doesn’t mean that much if the workplace isn’t a safe place to be. While it’s important to take each situation on its own merits, there are certain patterns and routines that seem to lead to additional sexual harassment lawsuits.
Common Scenarios With A Sexual Harassment Complaint Pattern
If you’re in a position of authority and your subordinate begins to complain about sexual harassment, it’s likely that you’ll be the target of additional complaints as well. According to the EEOC, when a supervisor is involved in the harassment, there’s a tendency for other employees to believe that they’re not going to be held accountable for their actions. This then creates a perfect storm of sexual harassment that the company needs to address.
Here are a few examples of common scenarios that lead to additional sexual harassment lawsuits.
Complaint Against A Male Co-Worker
If you’re a female employee and you have a complaint against a male co-worker, you’re going to have a hard time convincing a judge or jury that you weren’t also harassed simply because you’re a woman. Since men are more likely to harass and assault women, the onus is on the employer to show that they’re taking steps to ensure you’re not going to be targeted for sexual advances by your colleagues.
Complaint Against A Male Supervisor
A complaint filed against a male supervisor might seem like it’s not going to hold up in court, but under certain circumstances it could. Imagine a scenario where you work for a company that doesn’t have a formal structure in place to address complaints, but instead they’re supposed to be handled privately by the individual accused of harassment. There’s no way for the company to prove that they’re taking steps to ensure your workplace is a safe and harassment-free environment—unless you can provide them with concrete and verifiable evidence of the misconduct.
Complaint Against A Female Supervisor
Even in cases where there’s no direct allegation of sexual harassment against a female supervisor, there’s often enough suspicion to make them a prime target. In many companies, a female manager will inevitably be labeled as “feminist” or “pro-woman” even if they have nothing to do with the matter, and this can lead to additional complaints against them. Sometimes, there’s no better solution than to remove the supervisor from their position.
Repeat Offenders
It’s quite clear that not all men who harass women are going to be arrested and charged with a crime. In fact, most men who harass women don’t even realize that what they’re doing is wrong. In cases where the abuser is determined to be a repeat offender, it might be worth considering a lawsuit. This would be especially if you’re still working for the same company and it continues to allow this behavior to occur. In most states, there’s usually not much the employer can do to prevent this behavior once the employee has been arrested and charged with a crime. Not surprisingly, many employees have gotten sick of this routine and decided to leave their jobs because they believe it’s no longer worth it.
The Solution
If we want to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, it’s quite clear that we need to take steps to change the culture around it. One way to do this is by creating a betting pool on who the next person to be charged with sexual harassment is going to be. This might seem like an extreme measure, but in cases where there’s no other solution, it could be the key to ensuring workplace safety for you and your colleagues.
You might be wondering how exactly does this work. Let’s say you’re in charge of the human resources function at a company and you’ve come up with a way to effectively combat sexual harassment. You create a hotline that employees can call with complaints, and you put out a call for anyone who’s been harassed to come forward. One of your colleagues decides to anonymously call the hotline and makes a complaint against a manager who’s been making lewd comments about them.
You get the identity of the person who called the hotline and find that it’s a male employee, and you tell the manager that they’re going to be charged with sexual harassment. The manager insists that it was a misunderstanding and that they’re not a bad person. They even went so far as to say that it was a joke and that they didn’t mean to offend anyone.
You know that this is quite likely a lie, though, so you have no choice but to bring them in for questioning. During the interrogation, the manager finally admits that what they were doing was inappropriate and that they didn’t mean to do it. They also claim that it was a one-time incident and that they’ve changed.
You get back to the HR department and tell them that the manager has denied the charges. They ask you to document what happened and you say that there’s no need to because the manager has now admitted to doing it. At this point, you have two options. You can either decide to not press charges or you can give the manager a chance to prove themselves by creating a betting pool on whether or not they deserve to be charged. If they’re still employed with the company at the end of the pool, they’ll be found responsible and will have to step down.
In cases where a superior is making sexual advances towards a subordinate, it’s quite clear that this is highly inappropriate and that it needs to stop. In most cases, this will involve the subordinate taking a complaint against the superior to human resources or the legal department. It’s quite likely that you’ll be asked to testify against the abuser in court, so it’s essential that you come up with a plan B in case this happens.
The key to creating a safe and comfortable environment at work is by having a zero-tolerance policy towards harassment of any kind. You want to create an environment where everyone, regardless of gender, is able to express themselves freely without fear of reprisal. If you can’t create a culture of respect and safety at work, it’s quite likely that people will continue to feel unsafe and will resort to asking for help from whom they feel most secure.