When you go in to work, you expect to be treated with dignity and respect. You are there to do your job to the best of your abilities. But what happens when someone starts making unwanted advances at you? How do you handle the situation? Unfortunately, sexual harassment happens more often than you might think in the workplace. Don't let one of these common misconceptions hold you back from taking action and doing something about it.

You were asking for it because of the way you dressed.

Telling someone that it is their own fault because of the clothes they wore is unacceptable. No one goes into work asking for someone to try and take advantage of them or treat them with disrespect. In fact, there are a lot of negative effects stemming from being sexually harassed. It can make you feel embarrassed, depressed, ashamed and humiliated. Don't ever feel like you did something wrong by wearing the new polo shirt or skirt to work. It is the other person who is to blame.

Women are the only ones who are sexually harassed.

While women might deal with harassment more than what their male counterparts do, that doesn't mean men can't be victims too. There are plenty of instances where a female boss tried to exert her power and control of the male employee in an attempt to get what she wanted. Men deserve to be treated with respect as well, regardless of what role they have in the organization.

If you ignore it, the perpetrator will stop.

All too often, people do nothing about it because they think it will stop on its own. However, that isn't even close to being the case. It could make it worse. Sure, there could be a remote chance that the issue will stop after a long enough time has passed, but it is far more effective to deal with the individual head on. By simply confronting the individual in question, you can call them out and let them know that you aren't going to stand for that type of behavior.

You deserve to be treated with common courtesy in the workplace. If you haven't been, you need to do something about it now. Don't allow yourself to be the victim any longer. Sexual harassment happens all the time, but there is a way to do something about it with a trained sexual harassment attorney on your side.

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