Being accused of certain behavior is never easy to handle. It’s upsetting and it can come as a shock, especially if you don’t realize how your behavior has come across to somebody else. If you’ve been accused of harassment, whether that be in the workplace or on a night out, you need to take the right steps so that this accusation doesn’t ruin your life.
Finding the right support and if necessary, being open to feedback from others and being prepared to change your behaviour is important. Getting some support and advice from sexual offence solicitors is also a good place to begin so that you can know that you are doing the right thing to get your reputation back on track. Let’s take a look at what you should do if you’re ever accused of harassment.
- Consider the complaint carefully. Were you inappropriate at a Christmas party? Did you make comments at work that were supposed to be a joke but didn’t come off the right way? If someone approaches you about your behaviour or you’ve been pulled into your boss’s office and reprimanded, you need to remain calm and avoid aggravating what’s likely to be a very difficult situation from the person that’s come forward. This means that you need to consider the complaint carefully and listen to the particular concerns that have been expressed. There is every chance that the other person will be likely to share their views with you if you’re somewhere neutral and you are willing to be open and not be defensive.
- Seek an objective opinion. If you’ve said something in jest and you didn’t realize it could be taken as a harassing comment, then speak to those who may have heard the issue. A councillor might be able to assist you to understand the issue and develop a strategy to address the matter with somebody. But it’s also important that you learn how to manage your response to an allegation like that, especially if it occurred in the workplace. You need to know whether what you said, whether in jest or not, was the right thing to do, and asking other people to help is important. Believe that the complaint is a malicious one, or you can show that you’re being unjustly accused. Then discussing this with your supervisor at work or even with your solicitor is a good plan.
- Make adjustments. Ideally, this complaint doesn’t go any further than a room where you can discuss and come together for an outcome. However, if it does go further and you find yourself accused of and then arrested for harassment, then you need to be very aware that you have to adjust your unreasonable behavior. If, after careful consideration, you believe your behaviour would be reasonable and the complainant does agree, then you should think about further counselling. Otherwise, lean on your legal team to help you get through this.
Being accused of harassment is not easy, but you can work your way forward.
