ORANGE COUNTY VOICES / ELIZABETH THOMPSON ORTIZ : Sexual Harassment and How to Stop It

The recent civil lawsuit filed against the police chief and a top administrator of the 250-member Newport Beach Police Department by four female employees alleging that they are victims of sexual harassment has dramatically brought the issue back into the public spotlight and conscience.

After a lengthy process of seeking redress though the city Civil Service Commission, the women filed the suit seeking $200,000 each in damages. They range in age from 28 to 43; two are police officers and two are clerical/administrative supervisors. Three of the four women had been fired, allegedly for refusing to cooperate with the sexual demands of their superiors. Two of the fired women have already been reinstated by the city’s Civil Service Commission and the third will have her hearing shortly.

The women claim an environment of extreme sexual coercion, in which they were told to wear short skirts to work and to socialize with officials after work. According to their charges, a police captain touched their breasts and made sexually suggestive remarks, including graphic descriptions of a pornographic movie. An atmosphere of fear, intimidation and retaliation in the department is reported to still persist. In the days following the newspaper accounts of the suit, a number of additional current and former department employees have come forward with similar experiences.

What is sexual harassment anyway?

Sexual harassment is any unwanted sexual advance (verbal or physical) in which a woman or man is threatened with not being hired, loss of employment, loss of a promotion or other negative employment-related action if she or he does not comply with the harasser’s sexual demands. The legal definition is restricted to harassment related to employment, but the same problem is commonly found in colleges and universities where students are threatened with failing grades or other punishment. Sexual harassment ranges from single incidents of mildly suggestive behavior to continuous, serious threats over a long period of time.

How common is it?

Sexual harassment is a very serious and very common problem for which we have had a name only in the last 20 years. Most working women and a minority of working men can expect to experience sexual harassment at some point in their careers. Homosexual harassment also occurs. A recent survey of Los Angeles city employees showed that 37% of women felt they had been sexually harassed within the last year, although only 9% had made even informal complaints and still fewer had filed formal complaints. A survey of several thousand working women conducted by a women’s magazine found that nine out of 10 reported they had been sexually harassed at work.

Isn’t there a law against this kind of thing?

Yes, there is. Sexual harassment is viewed as a form of sex discrimination. However, until quite recently sexual harassment cases that were filed under anti-discrimination legislation either at the state or federal level were rarely successful. The climate for legal redress of sexual harassment has improved markedly since 1986 due to the U.S. Supreme Court decision that “sexual harassment is a recognized form of sex discrimination which is remediable in a civil lawsuit. The California State Supreme Court in Rojo vs. Klieger (1990) determined that protection from sexual harassment is included in the state Constitution’s ban on workplace bias.

How can you protect yourself?

Fortunately, quite a bit is known about the characteristics of harassers and how to avoid or neutralize them, and many situations are not as serious as those alleged in the Newport Beach case. However, you must proceed with utmost caution. As the Newport Beach case shows, the victims are likely to pay a far higher price than the harasser. Here are a few pointers:

* Avoid looking and acting helpless. Harassers are looking for the easiest prey. Set limits early and clearly with anyone who tries inappropriate sexual talk or touching.

* Listen to co-workers; many harassers already have a long history of the behavior.

* Avoid situations where you will be alone with or under the direct supervision of a known harasser.

If harassment does occur, start keeping a detailed log of events immediately, investigate sources of advice and help both within and outside your organization, and consider confrontation via a letter from you (or your attorney) asking the harasser to stop. It is in your interest to solve the problem informally and at the lowest organizational level possible because this will cause the least damage to your career and reputation. The threat of a lawsuit has often worked to get the full attention and cooperation of the employer.

When all else fails

The first formal step in resolving a sexual harassment case is usually within the employing organization. Most large organizations have policies that forbid sexual harassment and procedures for filing a complaint.

Further options include a complaint to the state Fair Employment and Housing Administration and filing civil suit for compensatory and punitive damages. In addition, criminal charges can be filed if there has been a rape, assault, threats or other behavior which is illegal under existing laws.

As the drama of the Newport Beach case continues to unfold, we should remember that regardless of its outcome, it will serve (as Anita Hill’s testimony in the Clarence Thomas hearings did one year ago) to heighten awareness of the harm that sexual harassment does and to further reduce societal tolerance for it.