What Should Be Your First Course Of Action If You Are Sexually Harassed

The first course of action if you are sexually harassed is not a decision about reporting. It is preserving what you will need if you later decide to.

Evidence disappears faster than people expect. Messages get deleted. Group chats are cleared. Access to work email and systems can be cut off within hours of any dispute. Rosters and shift records are overwritten. Witnesses leave.

So before anything else, take copies. Screenshot messages with the sender and timestamp visible. Email yourself a dated note of what happened at a personal address. Save any relevant roster or record you already have lawful access to.

None of this commits you to a complaint. It simply keeps the option open, and that option closes quietly if you wait.

Support is available at any point. The Australian Human Rights Commission sets out the pathways. This is general information rather than legal advice.

See Sentrient’s sexual harassment course and incident reporting software.