Can Sexual Harassment Occur Between Individuals of the Same Sex?

By Jack Tuckner, Esq.

Well, it doesn’t matter who’s sexually harassing you in the workplace. Doesn’t matter the gender, the sex of the perpetrator of the sexual harassment, doesn’t have to be a member of the opposite sex. It doesn’t have to be the more standard male on female because men are often in positions of authority and power in the workplace over women, and that sets up an imbalance of power dynamic, which doesn’t help the situation, which is why most cases of sexual harassment are still male on female. But if the perpetrator is a woman, if the victim is a woman as well, or a male, or a male on male female, on male female, it (the combination) doesn’t matter. Sexual harassment is gender neutral, meaning any permutation of sex is still illegal, if you as typically the subordinate employee is uncomfortable with treatment that objectifies you, is sexualizing, even if it seems like innocent flirtation, if you don’t have the power to just say to the person like you might to your coworker or a subordinate, “get the hell away from me and stop doing it, I’ll get you fired”, right? 

But it’s when it’s a boss, you are reluctant to do that if you want to keep your job, it’s frightening because if you complain, or even if you say to your boss, “I don’t like that, please don’t do it. I wanna keep the relationship business-like”, there’s always the danger and the fear that it may result in something bad at work, a demotion, or you’ll no longer be the favorite person, or you may be fired, but it is definitely illegal and it doesn’t matter the gender. In the next video, I will talk about and answer the frequent question that we get here in this office about how severe does your perception of the sexual harassment have to be in order to file a complaint with your employer. Until then, this is Jack Tuckner from the law firm, Tuckner Sipser, Weinstock and Sipser. We’re based in New York City, but we consult with folks from all 50 states, if you have a question about your own workplace challenges and wanna discuss this with one of us at this firm in total confidence and free of charge. Take care now.