https://unsplash.com/@danedeaner
In every workplace sexual harassment training there is always an emphasis on the need for victims to come forward and share their stories. This presumes that the way to address sexual harassment is to learn of it through victims and then enforce consequences for perpetrators. But aren’t there other ways to learn about the underbellies of our organizational cultures?
Putting the onus on victims to come forward reinforces a culture where sexual harassment is seen to be a problem of and for the victims—one that is only made visible when a vulnerable person does others the favor of shedding light on something. Why are we asking victims to do favors for our organizations when our organizations have yet to protect victims from things they shouldn’t have to endure while working?
Instead of centering sexual harassment on victims and their vulnerabilities, organizations should instead be looking at the ugly sides of their corporate cultures—the parts that foster obsessions with power and toxic masculinity. That’s where it starts—not with victims. Victims are actually the last people we should be asking to come forward. Why not instead ask your employees who were sloppy at the office holiday party to reconsider their behavior? We assume we need others to report problematic behavior that is often right under our noses. You don’t need a report of assault to address the culture of sexual harassment in your office. You need a conscience and a commitment to not turn the other way in the face of power abuses.