Harassment in the workplace is an ongoing issue. Many people are wary of coming forward and making a sexual harassment complaint for fear of retaliation or being ostracized by co-workers. Recently there have been high profile cases and in the case of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, an arrest. These cases have led to an increase in the number of people willing to come forward and file complaints.
An article by Christian Fraser for the BBC reports that there have been an increasing number of sexual harassment complaints in recent months, as women are breaking their silence. The BBC article reports that perhaps that arrest of Dominique Strauss
-Kahn was a turning point for these women. Fraser writes:
“Marilyn Baldeck, spokeswoman for the European Association Against Violence Against Women, said there has been a notable increase in the number of reported abuse and harassment cases in recent months, from women who until now were nervous of coming forward. ‘There has been a real impact which I think is down to the media coverage of the DSK affair,’ she said. ‘Suddenly there are more reports of sexual violence at work. We have had double the number of complaints and most of these women seem determined to go to court.’”
The article goes on to discuss the fear that things could go backwards now that Strauss-Kahn was released last week due to the questionable credibility of the main witness in the case. Read more>
