How Can I Get Help After Being Sexually Coerced?
Sexual coercion is a form of sexual harassment that can result in unwanted sexual contact. During sexual coercion, the aggressor tries to trick or force their victim into believing that performing a sexual act is the right thing to do. If the victim does not want to give consent but the aggressor persists, then that is sexual coercion and it can have devastating effects.
Understanding Sexual Coercion
Victims of sexual coercion often do not report their situations because they are afraid that they will be told that, since they were not physically forced to have sex, that they gave consent. A range of emotions goes through the minds of the victims of sexual coercion, and that whirlwind of emotions can often include embarrassment, anxiety, and fear.
If you feel that you had of intention on giving consent but were talked into sex anyways, then you first need to understand that you did nothing wrong. Some aggressors are experts at manipulating people by finding weaknesses to exploit. You are not at fault and you have every right to seek help and justice.
Examples of Coercion
When you owe someone money and they try to convince you to offer a sexual act as payment, that is another form of sexual coercion. Whenever an aggressor attempts to use guilt, fear, or deception to try and convince a victim to have sex, that is coercion.
Some specific examples of coercion include a landlord insisting that sex can be used in lieu of paying rent, an aggressor who is considered a confidant to a vulnerable victim using their status as a way to trick the victim into sex, and an aggressor using information to blackmail a victim into sex.
What Should a Victim of Coercion Do?
If you feel that you are the victim of sexual coercion in the workplace, your immediate first step should be to report the incident to your supervisor. Your company may have a policy that provides counseling for you, that can help you to handle the emotions involved in a situation like this. Also, your company may ask you to file a sexual harassment report against the aggressor because coercion is sexual harassment. If there is a sexual act involved, then coercion becomes sexual assault.
Sometimes a sexual coercion victim feels like they have no where to turn to get help. Our firm has helped many sexual coercion victims to get justice, and get the help they need to regain their self-confidence. Call us and talk to one of our compassionate sexual harassment attorneys today.