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Preventing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace for Illinois Professionals, 2nd edition: Summary
Case Study 3 Dana is a newly licensed social worker. She is a bit intimidated by her colleagues, who have worked at her clinic for at least several years. Martin is a clinical social worker with 20 years of experience. Although he provides excellent patient care, he has a reputation for being arrogant and a bit of a bully with younger colleagues. His behavior has been tolerated over the years because of his excellent clinical skills. One afternoon Dana is in the utility room gathering supplies. Martin follows her into the room and shuts the door firmly behind him. He blocks her exit from the utility room. “You know Dana, you’re new here—young and inexperienced. I could help you out and help you get ahead in this place. I have connections. I’ve worked here forever. I can stop other people from giving you a hard time. All you have to do is to be nice to me.” Martin then grabs Dana with both arms and forcibly kisses her on the lips. Dana breaks free and slaps William across the face. The behavioral health manager enters the utility room and witnesses the slap. Martin immediately shouts, “She assaulted me! I’m going to file charges and get her fired!” Dana immediately begins to shout her own accusations. The manager has Dana and Martin accompany her to the human resources department. The manager is following hospital protocol to seek human resources mediation for these types of conflicts.
Conclusion Sexual harassment is a civil rights violation that creates a hostile environment for employees and will not be tolerated in Illinois. Sexual harassment puts at risk an individual’s physical and mental health, as well as their financial well-being, livelihood, and career trajectory. All employees, regardless of status, must be trained and challenged to create a system that does not allow harassment while supporting those who experience it. The best way to help prevent sexual harassment is for workplace leadership to take all complaints seriously and establish a clear zero-tolerance policy.
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