Is the sexual harassment of interns a hidden problem?

The Chicago Tribune ran a excellent article this week about how interns rarely report sexual harassment. This article highlights a significant problem that young people can face early in their careers in that there's a power dynamic that plays in favour of the harasser. There's been a fair amount of research done showing that interns are in a poor position to challenge harassment, see this Harvard Women's Law Journal article, this policy memorandum from the Economic Policy Institute and Ross Perlin's Intern Nation. This problem is being driven by poorly constructed laws, lax enforcement of employment standards and a lack of knowledge on the part of young people about their workplace rights.

Internships in Ontario (and in most jurisdictions in Canada) are covered under human rights laws that generally cover the range of employment, volunteer and service relationships that people can enter into. If a intern is sexually harassed they can file a complaint with the relevant tribunal and seek damages for the impugned behaviour. No one should put up with being harassed as it can wreck havoc psychologically, emotionally and physically. If you find yourself in such a position tell a parent, professor, supervisor or friend as people need support in these sorts of situations. Young people don't need any additional stress in the workplace beyond what they normally face. For my previous discussions about this legalities surrounding internships in Canada see: here, here and here.