Many people don’t report sexual harassment. Much of the time, if they are later asked why they didn’t report it, they say that they didn’t think anyone was going to believe them.
If you’re worried about this, one thing to do is simply to gather evidence in advance. Get something to back up your claim so that you can show that you are being truthful and the other side is not. But how do you get this type of evidence?
Keep a journal
One of the first things you can do is simply to keep a journal of any events that you experience. When did it happen? Who was involved? Where were you? What led up to it? Take notes on all of these things and more as soon as the event occurs. These notes can be very helpful when you’re trying to relate the story in the future.
Save other forms of evidence
Much evidence in the modern era is digital. Maybe someone sent you explicit pictures or an inappropriate email. You want to make copies of all of these and save them somewhere that they can never be deleted. For instance, take a screenshot of an email and save it to a flash drive that you keep at home, rather than leaving it on the company’s email server.
Talk to witnesses
It’s also important to know if anyone else has experienced the same thing or if they might have seen what happens to you. Having a second witness who can back up your statements can do wonders for you if this case ends up in court.
No employee deserves to be treated like this on the job, so make sure you are also well aware of the legal options at your disposal.
