Sexual harassment today is one of the most relevant problems workers face at their workplace. Many cases of harassment remain unreported because workers are afraid of losing a job or position within a company. However, harassment must not go unpunished, and there are some strategies that allow dealing with it.
In this case study, I believe the correct approach would be to try to document the bureaucrat’s actions. Documenting harassment is one of the steps advised by the EEOC, which allows victims to deal with the problem. Since, in this case, the situation develops gradually, and the journalist is aware that her opponent has crashed on her, she may start collecting some evidence to that effect. For example, she may make some records of their talks or meet him at a public place that her friends or colleagues visit. In case of harassment, she will have people ready to testify on her behalf.
The first thing to do when the proposal ‘to sleep’ comes, I believe, is to try to get the bureaucrat to see sense. Thus, the journalist’s investigation may be compromised if it becomes known that she is deeply involved with the person who provides information. In this way, the provided documents may lose their value, and the whole investigation may be discredited.
If the bureaucrat is unwilling to see sense, the next step would be to say that the journalist documented their conversation, even if that is not true. She may say she had a recording device and recorded what he said. The bureaucrat may not want to jeopardize his career and wish to provide documents in exchange for silence. Moreover, the journalist may say she has a number of people who have seen them together and are ready to testify to the effect that he harassed her. However, this strategy will only work if the bureaucrat is truly apprehensive about his position.
Finally, the journalist may notify her company of the harassment that takes place and let the company’s managers follow the company’s guidelines in dealing with such a situation. In all cases, she must rely on support from her family and friends to live through this unpleasant experience.