A female California lawmaker who made headlines for fighting against sexual misconduct in the state Capitol has now been accused of such misconduct herself. The woman was an important figure in the #MeToo movement, a social media trend through which victims of sexual harassment and assault can demonstrate how widespread these problems are. The movement has been groundbreaking in its ability to shed light on the once-taboo topic of sexual misconduct – especially sexual harassment in the workplace. The news stories have mostly focused on women victims, but it is important to note that sexual harassment, sexual assault, and rape although much less frequent, can happen to both men and women.

Female Lawmaker May Face Criminal Charges

The man accusing the prominent female lawmaker of misconduct claims that she drunkenly approached him at a softball game and touched him in an unwelcome sexual way in 2014. The man did not report the incident immediately because he feared the backlash from accusing a powerful woman of sexual assault. This January, the male staffer told his former boss about the incident and an investigation began. He is not alone in his accusations. Another man who works as a lobbyist has also accused the lawmaker of sexual misconduct. The woman accused of the inappropriate touching is denying the accusations. “I can also say I have zero recollection of engaging in inappropriate behavior and such behavior is inconsistent with my values,” she said in a statement.

Cheating has been a problem in romantic relationships since romantic relationships came into existence. In the past, many cheating spouses found their new partners through work, mutual friends, and other in-person social interactions. An instance of infidelity used to stereotypically involve dinner and a hotel room, but today, affairs can look quite different.

The internet has changed the way we do almost everything. It is now easier than ever to keep in contact with old friends or significant others and to meet new people. Through the world wide web, people in the United States can talk to someone in Australia instantaneously. We are more connected as a human species than ever before, but sometimes this over-connectedness can cause problems in our most valuable relationships.

What Is Considered Cheating?

The issue of sexual harassment has often been swept under the rug, but when high-profile celebrities such as Harvey Weinstein, Matt Lauer, and Senator Al Franken were accused of sexual harassment, it brought the issue to the front of many people’s mind. The #MeToo movement on Twitter and other social media outlets is further shedding light on this once taboo topic. However, despite the increased focus on the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace, it appears that many victims still remain silent.

Fears Keep Victims Quiet

In a survey created by CareerBuilder, private-sector workers across a variety of industries and company sizes were asked questions about sexual harassment at work. About 12 percent of all workers say that they have experienced sexual harassment while at work, but the majority of those individuals never report the inappropriate conduct. In fact, of all the people who say they have been sexually harassed at work, 72 percent have never filed a report about it. A little over half of the victims of sexual harassment have never confronted the perpetrator either. In the survey, victims of sexual harassment who had not reported the harassment cited fear of being a troublemaker, fear of losing their job, and concern about the case being their word against another’s as reasons for staying silent.

The purpose of child support is to help the parent with the majority of the parenting time to pay expenses related to the care of the child. The state of Illinois takes the obligation to ensure children are adequately cared for very seriously. The courts will do everything in their power to make sure a child is receiving the funds necessary to maintain the same quality of life he or she had when his or her parents were married.

Consequences for Non-Payment

Child support is a requirement, not a suggestion. Those ordered by the courts to pay who consistently skip payments can face serious consequences. The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services' Division of Child Support Services (DCSS) is in charge of recording and monitoring child support payments. When a parent who should be receiving support notifies DCSS of the other parent's failure to pay court-awarded child support, DCSS will take steps to retrieve the support funds from the obligated parent. This happens automatically if the recipient parent is receiving public assistance. If the DCSS cannot convince the payer parent to pay his missed child support payments, they will use an Income Withholding for Support request. This orders the paying parent’s employer to withhold an additional amount in child support from the parent's earnings. Other methods of recovering child support payments from a non-paying parent include:

Over the last few months, sexual harassment has been all over the news. From movie stars to politicians many influential people have been accused of sexual harassment. At the recent Golden Globes award show, actors and actresses wore a black-and-white pin inscribed with the words “Times Up.” The pin—which worn by stars like Justin Timberlake and Michelle Pfeiffer—references the idea that time is up for men who have been allowed to be sexually inappropriate with un-consenting women. Sexual harassment, however, is not something that only happens to celebrities.

Studies have found that bartending is the profession third-most vulnerable to nonfatal workplace violence. Only law enforcement and security are more dangerous is this regard. Much of this violence is due to sexual harassment. There is no one conclusive reason for this statistic to be true, but the consumption of alcohol and the party-like atmosphere of many bars are almost certainly factors. People also tend to see friendly and social behavior by a bartender as an invitation to make sexual advances.

Unfortunately, many bars and restaurants do not require their employees to undergo formal sexual harassment training. In fact, some bartenders and servers write off sexual harassment as merely a part of the job.