This file was prepared for electronic distribution by the inforM staff. Questions or comments should be directed to inform-editor@umail.umd.edu. CHAPTER 3 Employee Responses to Sexual Harassment If I had not taken a course, I would not haue known that "touching" could be illegal. With this knowledge of my rights, Ifelt I could stop the harassment by threatening to file a complaint. After I took this action, the harassment stopped and he avoided me like the plague. A Survey Respondent Summary of Findings * Most victims use informal remedies to resolve sexual harassment on the job and they generally see this approach as effective. For both sexes, simply asking or telling the offender to stop "made things better" most frequently. Threatening to tell others or telling others was the second most effective action for women, while avoiding the person(s) was the second most effective action for men. * The great majority of Federal workers are aware that formal remedies are available to them. These remedies include filing a grievance or adverse action appeal, filing a discrimination complaint, or requesting an investigation by their agencies. * Nonetheless, formal remedies are rarely used to deal with sexual harassment. Only 5 percent of both female and male victims responding in 1987 said they took formal action to deal with the harassment, and most of these employees viewed the actions they took as non-productive. Introduction There are numerous options available to victims of sexual harassment for dealing with unwanted behavior. These actions range from avoiding the offender or telling the offender to stop, to formal measures such as filing a discrimination complaint or lawsuit. How a victim deals with the problem depends on a number of factors. They include the victim's awareness of available formal remedies and expectations about the effectiveness of these as opposed to other informal actions. This chapter examines victims' experiences with selected remedies and their relative effectiveness. Victims Often Take Informal Actions I informed the indiuidual as to how I felt about his behavior and why I felt he should change his behavior if we were to remain friends. A Survey Respondent Our 1981 report recommended that agencies emphasize the use of informal means of resolving claims of sexual harassment unless the harassment is of an extremely serious nature. The 1987 data confirm that victims are more likely to take informal actions--actions largely short of "going on the record"--in response to sexual harassment. Most victims seek remedies that do not involve filing grievances, discrimination com- plaints, or appeals, or asking for an investigation. In the 1980 and 1987 surveys, the Board asked victims whether they took any of the following actions in response to unwanted sexual attention: * Ignored the behavior or did nothing; * Avoided the person(s); * Asked/told the person(s) to stop; * Threatened to tell or told others; * Reported the behavior to the supervisor or other officials; * Made a joke of the behavior; * Went along with the behavior; * Transferred, disciplined, or gave a poor performance rating to the person; and * Did something other than the actions listed above. Some of the actions listed above (e.g., "Ignored the behavior or did nothing") can be considered passive behaviors. A sizable portion of victims in 1980 and again in 1987, however, indicated they considered these actions appropriate and effective responses to sexual harassment. As figure 3-1 shows, the four most prevalent responses for both male and female victims were ignoring the behavior or doing nothing (52 percent women, 42 percent men), avoiding the offender (43 percent women, 31 percent men), asking/telling the offender to stop (44 percent women, 25 percent men), and making a joke of the harassing behavior (20 percent, both women and men). Women used six of the nine approaches more often than men did, including the more assertive and "communicative" approaches of confronting the offender, threatening to tell or telling others, and reporting the behavior to their supervisors or other officials. Some respondents (10 percent women, 6 percent men) said they had taken an action other than one listed in the question, and they added written comments to explain that action. Our review of those comments showed that most victims did, in fact, take one of the actions listed in the question. Most of the victims who chose "other" then described in detail what they told their supervisor, or how they confronted the harasser. Victims Report That Certain Remedies Are More Effective Than Others I brought the problem to the attention of a discrimination official [EE0 counselor]. No formal action was necessary because the agency took action on an informal basis. A Survey Respondent I told the person the next time he laid a hand on me I would break his arm. He has not touched me since. A Survey Respondent In many cases, informal actions were effective in eliminating or reducing the harassment. As can be seen from figure 3-2, simply asking or telling the offender to stop produces the most effective results for both female and male victims. Among the victims who took this action, 61 percent of the women and 66 percent of the men said it "made things better." Although most women (77 percent) indicated that an "other" action they took was the most effective, the majority of their written comments simply described an informal action (e.g., telling their supervisor or confronting the harasser) in greater detail. A somewhat related action--threatening to tell or telling others--reportedly made things better for 55 percent of the female victims but only 24 percent of the male victims. More female victims also revealed that reporting the behavior to a supervisor or other official was often an effective action to take (49 percent women, 35 percent men). However, male victims reported somewhat greater success with avoiding the person(s) than female victims did (55 percent versus 45 percent, respectively). It is important to note that many victims apparently take the "course of least resistance" (e.g., ignoring the behavior or doing nothing) when dealing with sexual harassment. However, victims also reported that using these less confrontational methods did not usually result in a better work situation. Only 40 percent of the female victims and 38 percent of the male victims reported that making a joke of the behavior made things better. In like manner, among all victims, only 29 percent of the women and 37 percent of the men said that ignoring the behavior or doing nothing about it was helpful. Going along with the behavior was viewed as the least effective action to take. In conclusion, victims found that taking informal but direct action to confront the harasser--telling the person to stop--was the most effective way to stop sexual harassment. Forty-four percent of the female victims tried this approach while only 25 percent of the male victims were so direct. Employees Are Generally Aware of Most Formal Remedies Much public attention has been given to sexual harassment court cases that began as formal charges in the governmental or private sectors. To test employee knowledge of the formal actions that victims of sexual harassment could take, the survey question- naire asked respondents whether any of the following formal actions were available to victims within their agencies: * Requesting an investigation by [their] agencies; * Requesting an investigation by an outside agency; * Filing a grievance or adverse action appeal; * Filing a discrimination complaint; and * Filing a complaint through special channels set up for sexual harassment complaints. The great majority of employees knew that victims of sexual harassment in their agencies could use most of the remedies listed above. (See fig. 3-3.) Approximately 85 percent of victims and nonvictims realized that filing a grievance, an adverse action appeal, and a discrimination complaint were available options. Nearly 75 percent of employees knew they could also request an investigation by their agencies. Less than 30 percent knew that they could request an investigation by an outside agency. Few Victims Take Formal Actions I am convinced that most people would rather try to deal with sexual harassment in a less formal way first, but many are not skilled to do this. Agencies need to offer advice on how to deal with sexual harassment in ways short of the protracted, formal, and often embarrassing agency policy. A Survey Respondent Despite general awareness of the availability of at least three of the four formal actions, only 5 percent of both male and female victims chose to take any formal action. In fact, our responses show that victims were just as likely to change jobs as a result of sexual harassment as they were to take formal action. Among the small percentage of employees who said they did take formal action, the action most frequently taken (by 61 percent of the employees) was requesting an investigation by the employing agency. The low percentages for taking formal actions obtained through our survey are confirmed by a 1985 report released by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. -1 The Commission notes that in FY 1985, only 436 formal EEO complaints on sexual harassment were filed. Reporting that 5 percent of female victims took formal actions may actually be an overstatement. This is because 55 percent of women who answered the question on this issue indicated they took another action that they considered formal hut that was not one of the four actions included in that question. A review of the respondents' written comments showed that many victims appear to have a broader view of what constitutes a "formal" action. Many victims construe telling their supervisor or another official about the harassment as a formal action. Victims Do Not Believe Benefits of Formal Action Outweigh Possible Consequences To learn why victims may be reluctant to pursue formal procedures, the survey asked for their opinions of the potential effectiveness of four different formal actions. As figure 3-4 shows, those who believed the various actions would be "somewhat effective" ranged from 35 to 63 percent, depending on the action. These expectations alone, then, cannot fully explain victims' reluctance to pursue formal actions. Victims who did not take formal action in response to sexual harassment were asked to select one or more reasons (from a list of possible reasons) for not doing so. As shown in figure 3-5, the responses of both female and male victims were very similar. The primary reason for not taking formal action is that many victims saw no need to report the offending behavior. This may be because one or more informal actions that they took resolved or had the potential to resolve the problem. Another possibility is that some victims simply resigned themselves to tolerating behavior that they may have viewed as bothersome. Also, some of these employees undoubtedly wanted to avoid certain consequences they felt might result from formal action. For example, some victims said that taking formal action would make the work situation unpleasant; others believed nothing would be done as a result of initiating formal action--so why bother. Formal Actions Generally Are Not Viewed as Effective Unfortunately, because so few victims actually initiated formal action, only very limited data are available concerning the results of those actions. While not sufficient for detailed (e.g., agency specific) analysis, the data that are available, including the written comments from the respondents, generally indicate that the victims who did take formal action did not consider the action to be very effective. In a few cases, victims who took formal action said that their agencies took action against them as a result. Most often, however, victims said that agency management just "did nothing" as a result of the formal action or they "don't know whether management did anything." Only among those victims who said they requested an investigation by an outside agency was there a consensus that taking the action "made things better." The generally negative attitudes expressed by victims relative to formal complaints may, in part, he due to the fact that the process of reaching a conclusion on a formal action may be time consuming. This is discussed in chapter 4. In addition, in some cases, agency management may have taken some type of corrective action in response to a formal complaint but may be reluctant to make that information public for various reasons (e.g., violation of the privacy act). In conclusion, the results presented in this chapter suggest that victims of sexual harassment overwhelmingly tend to pursue informal rather than formal remedies. In addition, informal actions are generally viewed as more effective than formal ones. The circumstances surrounding any one case of sexual harassment dictate the type of action likely to be most effective. In some cases, of course, victims of sexual harassment may need to pursue both informal and formal actions to reach a resolution. FIGURES AND TABLES (format has been altered dut to graphics limitations) FIGURE 3-1 Actions Taken by Female and Male Victims Percentage of Victims, by Sex, Who Said They Took the Indicated Action(s) in Response to Unwanted Sexual Attention ACTION MALE FEMALE I ignored the behavior or did nothing. 42% 52% I avoided the person(s). 31% 43% I asked/told the person to stop. 25% 44% I made a joke of the behavior. 20% 20% I threatened to tell or told others. 8% 14% I reported the behavior to the supervisor or other officals. 7% 15% I went along with the behavior. 4% 7% I transferred, disciplined, or gave a poor performance rating to the person. 3% 2% I did something other than the actions listed above. 6% 10% NOTE: A number of respondents took more than one action. FIGURE 3-2 Effectiveness of Actions Taken by Victims Percentage of Victims, by Sex, Who Took the Indicated Action in Response to Unwanted Sexual Attention and Who said it, "Made Things Better" ACTION MALE FEMALE I asked/told the person to stop. 66% 61% I avoided the person(s). 55% 45% I threatened to tell or told others. 24% 55% I reported the behavior to the supervisor or other officals. 35% 49% I transferred, disciplined, or gave a poor performance rating to the person. 22% 48% I made a joke of the behavior. 38% 40% I ignored the behavior or did nothing. 37% 29% I went along with the behavior. 19% 16% I did something other than the listed actions above. 39% 77% FIGURE 3-3 Respondents' Awareness of the Availability of Formal Actions Percentage of all victims and non-victims who believe the indicated action could be taken in their agency by a victim of sexual harassment POSSIBLE ACTION VICTIMS NON-VICTIMS Filing a grievance or adverse action appeal 89% 85% Filing a discrimination complaint 86% 85% Requesting an investigation by my agency 73% 75% Requesting an investigation by an outside agency 25% 29% *A fifth possible action, ie, "Filing a complaint through special channels set up for sexual harassment complaints" is not included in this report's analysis since few such channels were actually found to exist. FIGURE 3-4 Victims' Expectations Concerning Effectiveness of Formal Actions Percentage of victims who believe the indicated action would be very or somewhat effective in helping victims of sexual harassment ACTION Filing a grievance or advers action appeal 63% Filing a discrimination complaint 57% Requesting and investigation by my agency 51% Requesting an investigation by an outside agency 35% FIGURE 3-5 Reasons Given By Male and Female Victims For Not Taking Formal Actions Percentage of all victims, by sex, who did not take any formals action in response to unwanted sexual attention REASON FOR NOT TAKING ACTION MALE FEMALE I had no need to report it 42% 44% I thought it would make my work situation unpleasant 23% 30% I did not think anything could be done 17% 23% I did not want to hurt the person who bothered me 20% 16% I thought it would be held against me or that I would be blamed 13% 17% I was too emabarrassed 9% 14% I did not know what actions to take 5% 10% NOTES 1. "Report on Pre-Complaint Counseling and Complaint Processing by Federal Agencies for Fiscal Year 1985," Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (undated), p. 14.