Although the topic of sexual harassment of women in Utah is not new, a host of news stories the past few years have brought it to the forefront for many people. Sadly, data on the prevalence of sexual harassment in Utah has been challenging to find. However, earlier this year, the Utah Women & Leadership Project published a report that looked at public perceptions of the issues. With two research samples, totaling 3,176 Utahns, we discovered some interesting findings. In fact, when asked if sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination were problems in Utah, 2,649 (83.5%) of respondents — women and men — agreed at some level, with 1,303 selecting “strongly agree.”

When asked if they trust that most organizations in Utah would appropriately handle a sexual harassment report, most study participants were either uncertain or disagreed. In fact, only 11.1% selected “agree” or “strongly agree.” We also found that nearly half of respondents were not sure what steps they would take if they or a friend experienced sexual harassment.

Because I have had many Utahns ask me questions about the sexual harassment, I am outlining some important details that will educate and inform the public on a topic most of us would rather ignore.

First, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), sexual harassment is defined as: “Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual’s employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.” A list of examples can be found in this UWLP report: https://www.usu.edu/uwlp/files/snapshot/53.pdf.

Interestingly, recent surveys by the EEOC showed that when women were asked if they had experienced sexual harassment (without defining the term), 25% of women indicated that they had. However, when the term was clearly defined and examples were given, the percentage of women responding affirmatively rose to 60%.

Second, a 2018 national study discovered that 81% of women and 43% of men have reported being sexually harassed in their lifetime. However, as is the case with other crimes that can be personal and perceived as offensive, sexual harassment often goes unreported. In fact, approximately 87%-95% of those who experience sexual harassment do not file a formal legal complaint, and studies show that around 70% do not even report the incidents within their own organizations.

And third, at the heart of the matter is this: Discrimination and harassment of any kind thrives in situations where there is an imbalance of power between men and women. If gone unchecked, that imbalance is stronger in more conservative and religious environments (see my recent editorial on religiosity and domestic violence).

The bottom line is that we have ignored this topic for too long. Both men and women in Utah know it is a problem and don’t trust organizations will do the right thing. So, what do we do to ensure our workplaces, as well as political and community settings, are places of respect and support? For individuals experiencing harassment, there are steps you can take to protect yourselves. And, frankly, compliance training is not that helpful, as it typically is designed to protect the organization, not the employee. So, neither one of these will help with longer-term solutions.

The answer is changing the culture, which is complex and challenging to do. Yet, to start moving things forward, each of us can do two important things: 1) believe any individual who shares a sexual harassment experience, and 2) step forward and say something. It is time for all of us to be more courageous in these settings.

We can also step forward to help in a variety of ways from changing public policy to creating better workplace cultures and more. This includes learning more and joining new statewide efforts to help through A Bolder Way Forward.

The short-term and long-term costs of sexual harassment are enormous at both the individual and organizational level. If we as Utahns are committed to promoting ethical behavior and doing right by individuals, we need to do better in this area. As we work to understand and combat sexual harassment more effectively, we can know that more women, men and families can thrive.

Susan R. Madsen is the Karen Haight Huntsman Endowed Professor of Leadership in the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University and the founding director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project.