Since 1997, the number of reported incidents of sexual harassment in the workplace has fallen more than 40 percent. In 1997, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission received more than 16,000 sexual harassment complaints compared to 9,600 in 2017. This is attributed to better training as well as the increase in female managers. However, this trend does not necessarily apply to everyone in Florida and throughout the United States.
Smaller firms have seen a larger drop in sexual harassment cases compared to larger companies. Since 1995, companies with between 15 and 100 employees have seen a decline of 70 percent. Larger businesses have only seen a decline of 30 percent since 1995. Furthermore, women of color and older women have not seen a decline in the rates of harassment that they experience.
Women who are in their 40s have not seen a drop in reported incidents of harassment while there has been an increase in reports by those in their 50s and 60s. However, this may be because more women in this age group have jobs compared to decades past. During the middle of 1996, there were about 50 sexual harassment claims per month made by African-American women. This was the same number of monthly complaints made by women of color in 2016.
Individuals who believe that they have been victims of sexual harassment may wish to file a claim against their employers. Sexual harassment may occur if a person is the subject of jokes or comments about their body. This may also occur if a person receives requests for sexual favors or dates. An attorney may provide sexual harassment legal assistance and help an individual pursue compensation or other forms of relief.
