What Classes as ‘Groping’ and What You Can Do About It

<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Sometimes wording can make a difference in how you classify something&period; Groping falls under sexual harassment&comma; and should never be tolerated&period; It is one of those things that people let slide when they should be running for help&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Recognizing The Signals<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Groping shouldn’t be confused with an accidental brush&period; Someone bumping into you from behind is not always malicious&period; But there are signals that make it a lot easier to put two and two together&period; Someone that is constantly flirting with you and making advances is more likely to &OpenCurlyQuote;accidentally’ touch&period; When this accidental touching goes from being something small to a full on grope&comma; it is a sign that the suitor has raised the stakes&period; The trick is to shut down unwanted advances before it gets to the point where groping is seen as a logical next step&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Common Sense Is Underrated<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">The top answer from people that grope another person is that <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;theguardian&period;com&sol;lifeandstyle&sol;2017&sol;jan&sol;13&sol;its-not-groping-or-fondling-it-is-sexual-assault" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener">they didn’t know it was sexual harassment<&sol;a>&period; Or that they didn’t know the other person wasn’t interested&period; Excuses are endless&comma; but at some point&comma; common sense plays a role in how serious the situation is&period; People that grope usually have a history&comma; mostly undocumented&period; It isn’t uncommon to find out that they’ve groped several people but none spoke up about the incident&period; Without a paper trail to record the incident&comma; every incident afterwards is treated as an unrelated problem&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>Human Resources Exists For A Reason<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">In the workplace&comma; HR exists to deal with <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;sourcepointe&period;com&sol;sexual-harassment-in-the-workplace-it-happened-now-what&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener">these types of issues<&sol;a>&period; Often workers will keep the incident to themselves for fear of retaliation&period; This can never happen&comma; as legally the company &lpar;and several workers&rpar; would be liable&period; Retaliation for reporting groping should never be a concern when talking to HR&period; In fact&comma; it is more likely that you will get in trouble for not reporting the incident&period; Unreported instances of groping and other sexual harassment makes it difficult for HR to do their job&period; Time is always a factor with any form of sexual harassment&comma; so groping should be treated just the same&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>Always Talk To Someone You Trust<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Talking to a close friend&comma; family member or spouse about the incident is a good idea&period; It allows you to get a different point of view about how the groping happened&period; The insight provided while sharing will also be a weight off of your shoulders&period; If the incident happened at work&comma; then talking to someone you trust does not replace talking to HR&period; You should consider the feelings of others that have been groped by the same person but were too afraid to report&period; It takes one person to speak up&comma; and with luck&comma; the rest will follow&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><strong>Wrap Up<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Your body belongs to you&comma; and you only&period; Personal space is clearly defined&comma; so don’t let anyone tell you that you’re overreacting when that space is violated&period; <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;sexualharassment&period;com&sol;types-harassment-work&sol;unwelcome-touching-or-grabbing&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener">Dealing with unwelcome grabbing<&sol;a> takes planning&comma; so make sure you’re prepared to move forward&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;