Howard urges women to take lead

By Lynn Priola

Women need to take the lead in sexual harassment cases in the workplace, said an NIU official Wednesday.

Sharon Howard, University Resources for Women director, told a group of 10 women that 90 percent of all sexual harassment in today’s workplace is done by males to females.

“Women are at the mercy of behavior that is offensive,” Howard said. However, “employers are legally bound not to ignore the incident,” she said

Ignoring the problem provides a reinforcement for the act, Howard said, adding that the problem must be dealt with out in the open. Just telling someone to stop unwanted sexual behavior usually does no good, she said.

Often, victims of sexual harassment are afraid that if they talk about the incident, nothing will be done or they will be told that they “asked for it,” Howard said.

Many women are told, “be a good sport,” or “boys will be boys,” or that they should be flattered, she said.

Howard said cases even can be brought against employers that should have known about or been aware of the incident. Employers should be able to notice changes in the attitudes and actions of valued employees.

It is important for co-workers to support each other when problems of sexual harassment arise, Howard said.

“What we learn from society forms our attitudes,” Howard said. People need to know the intentions of others and treat them the way they want to be treated in the workplace, she said.

Sexual harrassment problems exist when patterns of persistent behavior occur that is not mutual between individuals.