Sexual harassment is an unfortunate reality in many California industries, and your chances of falling victim to it are higher if you are a female. When someone in your place of employment does harass you in a sexual manner, you may be able to strengthen a subsequent case against that party by documenting all incidents of harassment.
Per CHRON., unwelcome attention typically crosses the line into harassment territory when you find the attention to be hostile, abusive or intimidating in nature. The more evidence you are able to gather to back up your sexual harassment claims, the stronger your case may prove to be. When documenting sexual harassment at work, take time to do the following.
Take pictures
If the sexual harassment you face involves suggestive or sexual images, texts or emails, you want to not only save them but take photos of them, too. That way, if you inadvertently, say, delete an email, you still have something to reference that details the harassment.
Find witnesses
If anyone at work witnessed someone else sexually harassing you, try to secure that individual’s name and contact information. That way, if attorneys or company executives investigate the matter further, they have the option of speaking with witnesses to see if they back up your claims.
Keep a written log
Arguably the most important thing you might do to document workplace sexual harassment is to keep a running log of all incidents. Document when and where the harassment occurred. If there were any witnesses there when it happened, make note of this, too.
The more types of evidence you have to back up your assertions, the better the chance of your sexual harassment allegation leading to a favorable outcome.
