Steps Involved In A Sexual Harassment Case

Sexual Harassment Case

A sexual harassment case can be terrifying to deal with. Even though there are several laws and regulations placed against the act of sexual harassment, many victims face assault each day. The victims of the assault must contact a Charlotte sexual harassment attorney to ensure they get the justice they deserve. 

The act of sexual harassment can leave the victim in a dreadful state of mind. Likely, the victim might not know what steps they should take. There are specific steps involved in a sexual harassment case that you must know. Being aware of such factors can help you prevent mistakes and rectify problems. 

  • Complaint

The first step toward a sexual harassment case is related to a complaint. The victim must take a complaint seriously irrespective of the nature of the complaint, being formal or informal. Often, sexual assault victims get scared before filing a complaint against the accused. However, the victim must file a complaint with legal authorities or professional superiors if the incident happened in a workplace. 

  • Investigation 

The next step involved in a sexual harassment case is investigation. Each sexual harassment case will be investigated thoroughly. The victim’s choice is to have the issue examined by a lawyer or other professionals like employers. The victim must start the investigation with the help of an attorney as soon as possible. The victim must ensure that the research is conducted in an unbiased manner. If started late, essential evidence and proof can deteriorate. 

  • Contacting an attorney 

A sexual harassment case can be complicated and crucial for most victims. The case involves multiple aspects that need to be handled by a legal professional as they can take the case and make you aware of your legal rights. It would be in the victim’s best interest to contact a lawyer to handle their sexual attorney case. The lawyer will help the victim to file a complaint, report the incident to legal Authorities or superiors, contact for medical help, and build the case against the accused. The prime benefit of hiring an attorney is that they can gather evidence or proof. 

Sexual harassment is unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that is persistent or offensive and interferes with an employee’s job performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment. This is defined by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when, for example: a) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment, b) submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual, or c) such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment.

  • Psychological

Sexual harassment can be physical and psychological in nature. An aggregation of incidents can constitute sexual harassment even if one of the incidents considered on its own would not be harassing.

Though sexual harassment encompasses a wide range of conduct, some examples of specifically prohibited conduct include the following:

Physical assaults of a sexual nature, such as rape, sexual battery, molestation or attempts to commit these assaults, and intentional physical conduct that is sexual in nature, such as touching, pinching, patting, grabbing, brushing against another employee’s body or poking another employee’s body.

  • Sexual

Unwelcome sexual advances, propositions or other sexual comments, such as sexually oriented gestures, noises, remarks, jokes, or comments about a person’s sexuality or sexual experience. Preferential treatment or promises of preferential treatment to an employee for submitting to sexual conduct, including soliciting or attempting to solicit any employee to engage in sexual activity for compensation or reward. Subjecting, or threats of subjecting, an employee to unwelcome sexual attention or conduct or intentionally making performance of the employee’s job more difficult because of that employee’s sex.

Verdict

Generally, a victim files a complaint, reports the matter to authorities for investigation purposes and contacts an attorney. Most victims seek legal assistance from attorneys as these cases may need professional guidance. 

Final Words

If you encounter such an instance, you must seek medical and legal help immediately. Calling the police should be a priority. It would be helpful if you contacted medical care professionals to ensure you did not get injured.