Sexual harassment is wrong and can be especially damaging in the workplace. That is a statement that the vast majority of people would agree with. Even so, sexual harassment continues to run rampant in the workplace. Why is this? It isn’t just a handful of “bad actors” acting on their own. There is a larger, systemic issue at play. Organizations that allow this toxic culture to thrive both under the radar as well as out in the open need to be held accountable, which is what we are seeing more of. This week, we explore workplace harassment and some of the reasons organizations allow such a toxic culture to build and fail to hold guilty parties accountable, and in some cases, what’s being done to change that.

58% of Women Have Experienced Workplace Harassment – Survey

Over half of women have been sexually harassed at work, according to a recent survey and the majority believe it may happen again. Of those that have experienced harassment, only 40 percent reported it. Over half of women that did report it felt that the employer did not deal with it very well, if at all. Because of the harassment, women’s mental health and productivity suffer, and many choose to leave the company as a result.

Why the Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Harvard is Important

Why is the rate of reporting sexual harassment so low? We have seen many examples of organizations aware of harassment fail to act or even brush it under the rug. For example, three Harvard graduate students filed a lawsuit against the university alleging the school ignored years of sexual harassment and retaliation by professor John L. Comaroff. Comaroff even used Harvard’s investigatory process itself as a tool. Like many #metoo cases, it spotlights the networks through which sexual abuse is maintained at the highest levels of power.  The case highlights sexual harassment of specific people, ongoing and thwarted efforts to report his misconduct, and his retaliation for potential, suspected, and actual reporting over the course of many years.

How HR Could Be Implicated in Allegations of Toxic Culture at Activision Blizzard

Last week, Fortune published an expose compiled from accounts of more than two dozen employees detailing a toxic work culture at gaming enterprise, Activision Blizzard. Female employees recount being sexually harassed and continuously undermined when it came to career advancement. According to former employees, there was little trust that HR could address problems and create meaningful change. Why? Because many HR employees were known to be close to alleged harassers.

Senate Passes Bill to Prohibit Forced Arbitration in Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Claims

If it feels like organizations try to stay “hush-hush” about sexual harassment claims, it’s because they do. They write it into employee contracts at the outset of employment by requiring their employees to sign arbitration agreements. These agreements allow employers to require arbitration of employment-related disputes rather than participating in lengthy, expensive, public lawsuits. Last week, the United States Senate passed a bill that prohibits this practice when it comes to sexual assault or sexual harassment workplace claims.  Employees will now get to decide if they’d like to handle claims in court or through arbitration.