Is sexual harassment training even necessary anymore?

It’s ironic, isn’t it? The rush to make laws to train everyone to recognize and prevent sexual harassment—and then— everyone is stuck at home.

A new law passed in Illinois, effective January 1, 2020 affecting everyone working in a business or company with more than one person. Everyone must be go through training, simple or complicated. The State outlines the details very clearly.

Most people in Illinois have been working from home, however, some on Zoom calls. You would think that sexual harassment isn’t a thing anymore, but you’d be wrong. It's certainly possible to be sexually harassed verbally and visually. Zoom isn't pornography proof.

The quarantine would have been a good time for training. It’s unlikely most employers thought prevention training to be an important use of time, but it should be—even when employees are stuck at home.

Here’s why:

Although the number of workplace reports of sexual harassment to the EEOC or the local State Department of Human Services may be down—and we’re not altogether sure of that, being at home has put thousands more at risk for domestic abuse—often sexual assault—internationally.

The reasons are obvious. No place to run, no place to let off steam. Joblessness. Home is where feelings are expressed. Add to that an abusive partner or parent, novel fears of contamination, a dramatic up-tic in alcohol and substance abuse, and fewer avenues of support. Mandated reporters are at home, too.

No surprise then, that sexual assault (a type of sexual harassment) statistics are higher than ever. It is the genre of sexual harassment that trainers often either skip over or merely add to a list of inappropriate behavior.

We wouldn’t be having this conversation were well-known people not accused of exactly that type of relationship abuse. More than Quid Pro Quo has led to a conviction of one notorious celebrity. Most targets choose to settle

So do we still need to train everyone to prevent sexual harassment?

In our humble opinion, now more than ever.