January is National Stalking Awareness Month. See www.stalkingawarenessmonth.org. It is crucial that people understand the seriousness of workplace stalking. Paula Abdul alleges that her employer let a known stalker of one of their employees into her workplace. I hope that the discussion over this issue raises awareness so that more people understand that employers are responsible for the workplace sexual harassment of their employees by non-employees if they knew or should have known about the harassment and failed to take reasonable steps to end it. Stalking is defined as repeated harassment. Courts have recognized stalking as one of the most egregious forms of harassment. Stalking is almost always sexual in nature or based on gender, and when it is, it is sexual harassment within the meaning of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity religion and sex -- which includes sexual harassment.
78% of stalking victims are women and 87% of stalkers are men. 8% of all women in this country are stalked. 54% of female murder victims reported their stalkers to the police before they were killed by their stalkers. Not only are the women stalked harmed physically, mentally, emotionally and often, financially -- even having to leave their jobs or being fired -- but their children and everyone else around them suffer. Men are affected because these women are their wives, girfriends, mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, grandmothers, granddaughters, cousins, friends, etc.
Most stalking situations begin as domestic violence issues and may spill over into the workplace (see, e.g. Gantt v. Security, USA at www.dvmartinlaw.com/GanttvSecurityUSA) and others involve stalkers who are delusional strangers. Any woman may be stalked by an obsessed workplace stranger, while doing nothing more than “working while female;” yet, there is no federal statute that specifically prohibits employers from retaliating against
January is National Stalking Awareness Month. See www.stalkingawarenessmonth.org. It is crucial that people understand the seriousness of workplace stalking. Paula Abdul alleges that they let a known stalker of one of their employees into her workplace. Whether you believe Ms. Abdul or the Idol producers, I hope that this controversy raises awareness so that more people understand that employers are responsible for the workplace sexual harassment of their employees by non-employees if they knew or should have known about the harassment and failed to take reasonable steps to end it. Stalking is defined as repeated harassment. Courts have recognized stalking as one of the most egregious forms of harassment. Stalking is almost always sexual in nature or based on gender, and when it is, it is sexual harassment within the meaning of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity religion and sex -- which includes sexual harassment.
78% of stalking victims are women and 87% of stalkers are men. 8% of all women in this country are stalked. 54% of female murder victims reported their stalkers to the police before they were killed by their stalkers. Not only are the women stalked harmed physically, mentally, emotionally and often, financially -- even having to leave their jobs or being fired -- but their children and everyone else around them suffer. Men are affected because these women are their wives, girfriends, mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, grandmothers, granddaughters, cousins, friends, etc.
Most stalking situations begin as domestic violence issues and may spill over into the workplace (see, e.g. Gantt v. Security, USA at www.dvmartinlaw.com/GanttvSecurityUSA) and others involve stalkers who are delusional strangers. Any woman may be stalked by an obsessed workplace stranger, while doing nothing more than “working while female;” yet, there is no federal statute that specifically prohibits empl