With hundreds of sex offenders lurking in every corner, it is impossible to always stay protected. Unfortunately, these sexual predators are now showing up in some of our safest places, including the workplace. While these issues can become dangerous and humiliating, it is important to always stay informed on what to do if this happens to you. Below are tips on how to not only recognize sexual harassment, but also how to prevent such occurrences.

If you start to feel uncomfortable at work, you need to explore why this is happening. If an employee is verbally attacking you – whether it is through offensive language or jokes, you need to take action. Far too often employees are sexually assaulted, yet they feel that it is not a big enough deal to report. Although this is a huge type of sexual harassment, there are others that aren’t so obvious. Nonverbal communication is also a form of assault. For instance, if a co-worker is staring at your body or using unacceptable body language, this is considered sexual assault. Other forms of sexual harassment include unwanted touching and threats if sexual favors are not performed. If these types of unwanted behavior happen to you, it is suggested that you report it immediately.

No matter how embarrassed or ashamed you are, it is essential that you report any type of sexual harassment. If you do not want to go to the police just yet, start by telling a co-worker or someone in the human resources department. It is important that you respect yourself and realize that you have the right to speak. There is no reason for you to have to work under such uncomfortable circumstances.

If your boss or someone in the office tries to threaten your claims, do not back down. It is far too often that women drop their sexual harassment claim, in fear that they will be fired. It is crucial that you not only stand up for yourself, but for other women that it also may be happening to.

If you are beginning to become sexually assaulted and no one believes you, it is important to keep evidence. Keeping a journal with every incident explained in detail will help your case. This will be useful if you have to go to court, as well as providing the police department with the right amount of evidence. No matter what you do, always protect yourself.

A great way to prevent sexual harassment is to make every employee go through sexual harassment training. This way an employee knows what assault is and what isn’t. There are times when co-workers do not realize they are crossing the boundaries, thus resulting in awkward situations. Fortunately, there are wonderful sexual harassment training programs. One of the best in the country is the California sexual harassment training course. However, there are courses all over the country that are just as effective. For this reason, sexual harassment programs are great because they will educate employees in order to keep a workplace safe.