If you’ve experienced sexual harassment at work, you may feel uncomfortable talking about it with some of your co-workers. You may not want to bring it up or feel ashamed about what happened, even though you know that it is not your fault. The fact of the matter is that a lot of people even put off filing reports for this reason.
Not only should you be willing to file a report when you’ve been wronged, but you may also want to talk to your co-workers about what happened. If one of them was actually a witness, their account could go a long way toward backing up your case.
It’s no longer your word against one other person
One of the problems that people sometimes run into in sexual harassment cases is that it’s their word against someone else’s. For instance, maybe your boss harassed you and you want to take it to HR, but they say that they never did it. You know they’re lying, but how do you prove it?
This is when having a witness can be so helpful, especially if that witness also documented what they saw and what happened. When two people collaborate on the same account of events or even just some of the details, it really sheds light on who is telling the truth. This is also why you want to document all the other evidence you have, such as text messages, email messages, photos on your phone, or anything else you may have that supports your story.
One of the big keys to a sexual harassment case is getting everything in order to make that case as strong as possible. As you do this, carefully look into all of your legal options so that you can protect your rights as an employee.