Dear Future President:

My name is Taylor Koontz. I am fifteen years old, and I am from Louisiana. Sexual harassment has been an issue in workplaces for a very long time. Of course, sexual harassment is against the law and usually results in punishment, yet it continues to be an issue for many employees. Different situations mean different consequences, but we need to put an end to the situations where the victim gets fired and or does not get the culprit apprehended.

Although the idea of a woman getting harassed by a man is most commonly heard of, any person can get sexually harassed. A man can get harassed by a woman, or sexual harassment can happen between the same sex, according the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. This means that there are more possibilities of different situations in the buildings. When an allegation of sexual harassment is being investigated, the EEOC will look at the whole record. This includes the circumstances, such as the nature of the sexual advances, and the context that the allegations occurred in. (U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) The EEOC has done well with apprehension of sexual harassers, taking each detail of the situation and applying it to the consequences. This is still an issue because some companies do not have sexual harassment policies and or do not acknowledge it.

According to the Article, “Why Sexual Harassment Is Still An Issue And Why So Many Get Away With It,” if an employee who has performed an act of sexual harassment in the building, but is an asset to the company, sometimes the company won’t fire the harasser. (Gwen Moran) The whole situation could be overlooked completely even with sexual harassment claims being sent out. So why doesn’t this act of lying get reported by victims? Most of the employees with disadvantages such as being a single mother, or being in debt, are the targeted employees. “[Harassers] look for people who are in less of a position of power in credibility or economic stability,” says employment attorney James J. Collum. Because these people cannot lose their jobs, they will not report the company’s ignorance of a sexual harassment claim. Work discrimination expert Patricia G. Barnes also claims that even executive employees are still victims to sexual harassment. This shows that sexual harassment can happen to anyone at all.

My proposal is that each and every business, no matter the number of employees, should have sexual harassment policies discussed and firmly set in place. There should also be a law set in stone, that if a sexual harassment claim is made, then it will not go ignored. To resolve the issue of companies ignoring claims, the government should have monthly checks of sexual harassment within the building. This will include required forms that employees can send out to the government confidentially to state a claim. This will also include a check of the company's use of policies and confiscation of emails sent relating to sexual harassment. If the company gets caught in the act of ignoring sexual harassment claims, a punishment will be decided based on the circumstances. With these new requirements, victims will no longer have to quit or lose their jobs due to the fault of another’s actions. Sexual harassment victims will continue to endure so much pain and sorrow if we don’t put an end to this. Please take these ideas into consideration. Together, we can make workplaces a safe and welcoming environment for everyone.

Sincerely,

Taylor Koontz.

Work Cited

@gwenmoran. "Why Sexual Harassment Is Still An Issue And Why So Many Get Away With It." Fast Company. Gwen Moran, 2014. Web. 31 Oct. 2016.

"Sexual Harassment." Sexual Harassment. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Oct. 2016.