College internships are becoming a mainstay of every student's higher education experience. But, what does a young female or male intern do when confronted with sexual harassment? Unwanted advancements, sexually explicitly gestures and verbal assaults damage one's self-esteem and can injure a person's confidence both during the internship and when seeking employment after graduation.
As a university instructor, I have helped a young woman work through such a situation. The student, Danielle, told me about being sexually harassed during her senior year internship. The unwanted taunting and and sexually explicit jokes told by her work-site supervisor upset her tremendously.
That's not all. Danielle had no idea of what to do. Based on my experience, a young person enters the world of work with genuine ideas of how they will be treated by their employers and co-workers. Being the recipient of such abuse is the furthest from their minds.
I gave Danielle three pieces of advice (1) file a formal report with the human resources director, (2) leave the internship immediately and seek a new internship site, and (3) inform the university internship coordinator. If an employer is so bold as to harass one student, he or she will do it with others. Internship sites must be welcoming places for students and void of such difficulties. Further the only thing a college intern should be worried about is doing the job that is required to gain valuable experience.
When Danielle asked if she should still apply for a paid position with the company, I asked her if she was prepared to endure continuous harassment which may lead to unwanted physical contact. I also reiterated to Danielle that no pay, however high, could ever compensate for this type of hardship.
If you are an intern and unsure if you have been or are being sexually harassed, then you must see the human resources director immediately. Write down what happened to you, what was said to you, the time, place, and the person or persons involved. This documented material will help you explain the situation and provide the start of a paper trail for the human resources director. Also, write down the name or names of others who may have witnessed the act. You may need to provide this information to the human resources director as well. The human resources director will help you determine if you are the victim of sexual harassment. The human resources director will also help guide you through the process if you must file a formal complaint. Finally, as an intern you, too, may ask for a copy of the employee manual. This manual should include policies and procedures on what to do if sexually harassed.
I hope that this article helps others experiencing the same or similar problems. One last bit of advice: no matter how great the internship, no matter how high the pay, no job is ever worth putting up with any kind of harassment.