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The EEOC is reporting an increase in the number of males reporting sexual harassment on the job at the hands of other males. Between 1992 and 2008 the percentage of charges filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) by men doubled from 8% to 16% and more of the cases being reported were male-on-male sexual harassment. Stats can be difficult to track since the EEOC does not keep statistics on the gender of the harasser.
Regardless of the gender involved, sexual harassment is about control, abuse of power and the desire to humiliate the victim. The current economic climate might be a factor in the rise of these types of cases. “In tough times, you have more layoffs and more terminations,” says Joshua Zuckerberg, a partner in the labor and employment department of Pryor Cashman. “People are trying to find a theory to challenge their termination.” Add to the mix the stresses of being overworked and dissatisfied and you have an environment in which people are unwilling to tolerate behavior they might have put up with a few short years ago.
Male-on-male harassment is particularly difficult to prove in court however. Men have to prove they’re being harassed based on gender, and that can be difficult to prove. The EEOC wants workers to understand that regardless of the gender of the harasser and his or her victim, sexual harassment in the workplace is illegal.
To learn more about male-on-male sexual harassment in the workplace, click here.
