Sexual harassment in the workplace takes many forms. Sometimes, co-workers make sexual jokes at your expense. Other times, they treat you like a less valuable member of the company because of your gender. Still other times, those in a position of power over you may use that power to harass you in this manner.
One common way that this happens is through text messages. There is something about digital communication that often makes people act rashly. They may send you a message that they would never say to you in real life. Someone who rarely interacts with you while you’re at work could still send you explicit or harassing texts that change the way you feel about your job and your workplace environment.
A big problem with this type of harassment is that it instantly subjects you to unwanted content. Yes, you can block someone’s number or profile after the fact, but you typically cannot do it in advance. If they send you an explicit picture or an unwelcome sexual comment, you see it whether you wanted to or not.
Often, when talking about harassment, people talk about repeated interactions and a pattern of behavior. With text messages, though, the greatest threat to you is in the initial interaction. That’s when the other person entirely controls the conversation and can subject you to almost any type of content that they choose.
If you start getting these types of messages from co-workers, supervisors or other people at the company, it is incredibly important for you to understand all of the legal options you have.