Sexual harassment is a nonconsensual and improper act which highlights unwanted sexual behavior towards another person that makes him/her feel uncomfortable and threatened. Although many preventative measures have been taken against it, sexual harassment still occurs in many educational and employment settings. In an employment setting, sexual harassment can cause a lot of psychological distress among all the employees making it impossible to work competently and professionally with one another. Harassing behavior can be conducted by the management, supervisors as well as the employees and can be directed towards one or more people as well. Below are the types of harassment that can take place at work.

Quid Pro Quo Harassment
Quid pro quo is a type of trade between two people; it basically means one beneficial action is conducted in return for another action. In the workplace, this type of harassment is usually conducted by a figure of authority; someone who calls the shots in the office. This authority figure expects employees to put up with sexual advances or engage in sexual activity in return for the employees’ job security or the gain of benefits such as a promotion or a raise. This can start off harmless but can eventually lead to dire consequences, thus you should consider hiring a sexual harassment or sexual assault lawyer before it’s too late.

Direct Sexual Harassment
In direct sexual harassment you become the target towards which the harassing behavior is directed. Direct physical and verbal sexual harassment comes under this category. Verbal harassment includes being the target of sexual jokes, being conversed about in a lewd manner and getting requests to grant sexual favors from others at the office. Physical sexual harassment includes unwelcomed, inappropriate touching as well as other types of physical advances. Those who physically harass employees are usually not afraid to force themselves on others as well which is why sexual assault lawyers should be contacted as soon as you feel like things are getting out of hand.

Indirect Sexual Harassment
In indirect sexual harassment, you are not the direct target of harassing behavior but you still witness others getting harassed at the office and feel distress and even a sense of fear for your safety. Indirect forms of sexual harassment include a coworker putting up inappropriate messages or pictures on the office bulletin board, emailing other coworkers inappropriate sexual content including nude images and videos. This can make any employee nervous and even upset to keep on working at the office as he or she will fear that the harasser will attempt more direct methods next.