If you experience sexual harassment while performing your job duties, you need to have a clear understanding of your rights as an employee. Sadly, many hard-working people face challenges as a result of employee rights violations, such as enduring sexual harassment. This mistreatment can have a devastating impact on victims, not only in terms of emotional trauma and negative experiences in the workplace but also with respect to their finances and career.
It is helpful to go over data on sexual harassment charges in order to recognize the prevalence of these violations. This data helps shed light on the nature of this problem and serves as a reminder to victims that they are not alone.
Looking at the number of sexual harassment charge filings
According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, more than 10,000 sexual harassment charge filings surfaced over the course of fiscal year 2021. During fiscal year 2020, the EEOC saw over 11,000 charge filings, compared to more than 12,000 in fiscal year 2019 and over 13,000 in fiscal year 2018. It is important to note that this charge data does not count charges filed by victims with agencies at the local or state level.
Other data on sexual harassment charges
The EEOC reports that in fiscal year 2021, males accounted for 16.3% of sexual harassment charge filings with the agency. These cases resulted in the payout of more than $61 million (not counting benefits secured via litigation). If you have dealt with unlawful sexual harassment or sex-based harassment at your place of work, you need to take a firm stand for your legal rights.