Coping with Sexual Harassment
Attorneys for Sex Harassment Victims in DuPage, Kendall and Will Counties
Not only does sexual harassment take an emotional toll on its victim, it often has the affect of damaging the victim's career. Learning to cope with the emotional damage and rebuilding your career after filing a lawsuit can seem worse than the harassment itself. Engaging the services of one of our experienced sexual harassment lawyers will help you navigate the legal process, and this can help limit the stress you experience as a result.
Your Self-Esteem
It is not unusual for a victim of sexual harassment to suffer from lack of self-esteem. Victims of sexual harassment tend to blame themselves, and they may feel powerless to change the situation. Victims can feel as if they are alone, with no one to back them up. They can feel as if they are being ostracized by their peers or that others believe they are lying.
Victims should not feel alone. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) receives literally thousands of complaints of sexual harassment each year, and roughly 15% of these complaints are filed by men. Even more people file complaints with state agencies. Victims of sexual harassment are not alone in their battle against this type of discrimination. Many support groups, both live and on-line, exist to assist those who have been the victims of sexual harassment and help them learn how to deal with the affects and begin to rebuild their lives.
Rebuilding Your Career
It is a violation of federal and state law for an employer to retaliate against an employee for complaining of sexual harassment or pursuing a sexual harassment claim. However, retaliation does occur, and it can be difficult to establish the connection between the sexual harassment claim and the retaliation.
If an employee has no choice but to quit because an employer refuses to address discriminatory behavior related to sexual harassment, the employee may be able to make a claim of “constructive discharge.” If you do have to change jobs, either because your employer does not remedy the situation or because you feel uncomfortable continuing the employment because of your claim, it is important to understand that future employers may not discriminate against you because of your prior claim of sexual harassment. Some victims of sexual harassment find career counseling helpful in rebuilding their careers after being the victim of sexual harassment.
Contact Our DuPage County Sexual Harassment Lawyers
Our employment discrimination attorneys know all the applicable laws—those related to employment discrimination and those covered by other legislation. Contact a knowledgeable employment discrimination lawyer at Mirabella, Kincaid, Frederick & Mirabella, LLC to discuss filing an employment discrimination claim. Call 630-665-7300.
