• 28
  • June
    2010

Sexual harassment in the workplace, or within any organization, is never acceptable. While stringent laws exist to prevent such behavior from continuing, instances of sexual harassment are woefully underreported. When abuse is reported, it is up to management to take action.

Here too, many cases of sexual harassment fall through the cracks.

A recent example of this took place in San Jose, with the USA Swimming association and coach Andrew Asa King. Sentenced to 40 years in prison this past April, King was convicted of molesting a young swimmer he coached at the San Jose Aquatics in 2002.

USA Swimming officials received a complaint from the girl's mother, but as a formal complaint was not filed, took no action against King. Then again, in 2003, a former swimmer came forward to reveal abuse suffered by female athletes training under King a decade earlier.

In addition to humiliation and verbal abuse, King forced female swimmers to take part in activities like kissing male teammates before practice began. In her letter, the former swimmer said that, if any girl refused, the entire team would be forced to swim extra laps.

After receiving these complaints, USA Swimming officials consulted among themselves, but apparently felt that "keeping their ears open" was decisive enough and continued to let King's record of abuse slide.

Once these cases came to light, USA Swimming was derided as caring more for the integrity of the institution than the young swimmers who supported it. Suddenly inspired to action, the organization created a new code of conduct for protecting its young swimmers from abuse.

With one major lawsuit already filed against USA Swimming and King going to prison, most likely for the rest of his life, decisive action seems a little late in coming. For past victims of King's abuse, it is almost certainly too late.

When sexual harassment or abuse happens, it is important to stand up for your basic, human rights and tell someone. If your company or organization does not take care of the problem, then you have every right to find someone who will.

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