Are You Being Sexually Harassed at Work?

Your boss is constantly making a pass at you… A coworker cracks crude jokes and shows you pornographic photos… Your supervisor says he won't recommend you for a promotion unless you sleep with him…

Is someone at work sexually harassing you? Is the unwanted attention making it difficult for you to perform, or even threatening your job? Do you want to do something about it? We may be able to help.

O, The Oprah Magazine is ready to take action against sexual harassment in the workplace. So if you think you have a case (and you live in the U.S.), we want to hear about it. Your submissions will be reviewed by a team of legal experts headed by Harriet Posner of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP—she is one of Top 50 Women Litigators in California—who will arrange pro bono representation for a few selected cases. The magazine will report on what happens as these cases progress.

Definition of sexual harassment: Sexual harassment is any abusive or offensive treatment that happens simply because of a person's sex or gender.  
  • Sexual harassment can be unwelcome sexual advances, innuendoes, touches, or comments. Sexual harassment can be subtle—it isn't just lewd comments and vulgar gestures; it can also be romantic overtures after you've told the harasser you aren't interested, or offensive materials on display in the workplace.
  • Sexual harassment can also be mistreatment that is not sexual in nature, but is directed only at one sex, for example, when a woman enters an all male working environment and is mistreated simply because she is a woman.
  • Sexual harassment can be treatment that creates a "quid pro quo" (where your employer makes accepting the abuse a condition of your employment and threatens to fire or demote you if you don't) or it can be treatment that creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.