Just how many of them involved sexual abuse is not included in these statistics. Recently, in New York State, the number of sexual harassment cases filed with the Division of Human Rights surpassed the number of race discrimination reports, making this the number one problem faced in the work environment. When sexual harassment involves sexual assault, not only do the psychological, physical and economic effects parallel each other, the effects seldom impact the survivor alone. Employers, friends and family tend to minimize the damage because they cannot see or, worse still, they deny the damage exists. Yet the psychological effects are very real.
Few survivors know their legal rights or seek help right away.
At least, at first, most tend to deny what is happening or blame themselves. Men who feel troubled or upset by this behavior may then be confused or embarrassed about their own feelings and therefore hesitant to speak out against such behavior. Thus it's clear that men and women alike can suffer the trauma of sexual harassment. While it has become more recognized with sexual assault survivors, society still gives little recognition to the actions and consequences of sexual harassment even when the harassment involved sexual assault. Survivors of sexual assault and sexual harassment face humiliation, embarrassment, and the dilemma of whether to speak up in an effort to stop the abuse and risk these consequences or to suffer alone in silence.