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Some men can face false sexual harassment allegations. However, someone might accuse a woman too. Women can sexually harass people in the workplace, just like men can.
If you are a woman working for a company, and someone says you sexually harassed them, defending against false accusations becomes paramount. You might face an internal investigation, or perhaps the individual might bring in the police if they feel that is necessary.
How can you defend yourself against these charges? There are some ways women can fight back, so let us discuss them right now.
Produce Eyewitnesses
Let us say for the moment that you are facing an internal investigation at your job. The person who accused you says you did something on the premises, and human resources calls you in to give your statement.
You can describe what happened or what didn’t happen if you did nothing wrong. If someone says you did something, and no one else saw it, it’s your word against theirs. If that happens, it’s unlikely you will face disciplinary action since there’s no material evidence of any kind.
You might also produce eyewitnesses if you have any that can help you. Maybe the person who accused you says that you did something on a specific date and at a particular time.
If you have someone who can say you weren’t in the location the accuser mentioned at that time, then that strengthens your story. That might get the case dismissed.
Produce Physical Evidence
You might also produce physical evidence that contradicts the person’s story. Maybe you have a credit card statement saying you ate lunch out of the office on the day and at the time this individual says an encounter happened. You can show HR that credit card statement.
Maybe you can produce some video evidence. You might have cameras on the premises. Perhaps a camera caught you leaving the building through the lobby when the person says the alleged misconduct took place.
You can also show HR your phone and prove you exchanged no messages with this person. You can show them that you exchanged no emails, either.
Depending on what the person says happened, you can disprove their allegation in different ways. It’s unfortunate it might come to that, but you must defend your workplace reputation.
Why Does This Usually Happen?
Women accused of workplace sexual harassment will likely feel very uncomfortable about the whole situation. If it happens, maybe someone misinterpreted something you said or did. They might also hold some grudge against you, and they feel they will pay you back this way.
You can rigorously defend yourself, both with HR and in a courtroom, if things get that far. You’d think if you didn’t do anything wrong, this person’s case will soon fall apart.
At that point, you can determine whether you want a new job. Even if you did nothing wrong, the situation with your current employer might become untenable.
