Sexual Harassment – What Do You Do?

Hunters are selfish. They act through instinct and are often blind to standards of conduct. Hunters prey on the weak. They also prey on the ones that are out in the open, easy to see, appealing – standing still. The hungrier the hunter is – the more desperate he or she is – and sometimes even weaker than we know.

Lawyers will tell you that the abuse of an employer or supervisor, although unacceptable, is difficult to prosecute. And if you’re feeling vulnerable about your job, you’re in a difficult situation if you are the subject of unwanted, relentless harassment.

If you are a woman, then you might do something a friend of mine did. She asked one of our male friends – a big, hulking, brute – kinda’ good looking – but definitely intimidating to other men – to pick her up at work one day at the end of the day. She organized it so that she would have the “harasser” engaged in a conversation near the end of the day just when “boyfriend” arrived.

The “BF” was coached to eye the harasser intensely upon arrival, so that the harasser might sense that he knew something. The BF’s plan was to start talking to him, keeping the subject quite general. Somewhere in the conversation, he was to fit in the following dialogue: “Gosh, I’m so crazy about (girlfriend’s name) – another guy looks at her and I just go crazy – you know. It really pisses me off. Don’t you just hate that shit? You got a girlfriend, right? You know what I’m talking about.”

BF already was informed that the harasser was divorced. The harasser never bothered the lady again. The reality is that harassers are usually cowards. It’s easy to scare them. And more often than not, they are easily intimidated by other men.

Other tricks include – play the same scene out and have a friend (either woman or man) play the part of a lawyer friend stopping in to pick you up for lunch or dinner. The same person could play the part of a cop or detective.

Any role that is intimidating can work – as long as the actor is willing and reasonably good at it. If you don’t know someone, hire an actor. There are plenty out there that will play a part for a reasonable fee.

But the reality is that if the company does not have an iron clad harassment policy and plan, then you either leave the company, or learn how to turn the hunter into the hunted.