Being sexually harassed can affect one's physical and emotional health as well as their vocational development. Experiences of sexual harassment can contribute to what has recently been labeled as "Sexual Harassment Trauma Syndrome". The effects from sexual harassment can be seen on the levels of physical, emotional, interpersonal, and career development of women's lives. Depending on how harassment is defined, anywhere from 21% to 82% of women report their emotional and/or physical conditions to be deteriorating when harassed, including on the job.
Additionally, harassment victims often experience a type of secondary victimization when attempting to deal with the situation through legal or institutional means. When women try to take care of harassment, stereotypes that blame the victim often follow them. These sorts of myths center around the idea that harassment is a form of seduction and flattery and that women really wish to be harassed. There is also a tendency to believe that the women are not telling the truth or that they have exaggerated the events.
In reaction to sexual harassment, regardless of losing their jobs or no, women almost always experience debilitating stress reactions. In a study of 262 women, nearly 75% of them felt effects from the harassment in such a way that it interfered with their job performances. Most commonly, women reported that they had trouble concentrating upon their work because of the presence of sexual innuendoes. Women also reported that often their motivation to work was decreasing and they reported being unsure of their skills and accomplishments when harassed.
Despite the increase in the number of women in paid employment, statistics show that women in general hold lower status jobs than those that are held by men, including in the food service industry. Women are more likely to be in jobs that require minimal formal education or training and because of this, they are more replaceable than men in the workplace. Because of this fact, it is more likely that the man who is directing the sexual attentions upon the woman is in a higher position and at an advantage to her. If not officially in authority over her, he most likely has seniority or is better trained or better acquainted with the men in the supervisory positions. Even if the man is a coworker, it is possible that he is in charge of training the woman, especially if she is in a traditionally male field, such as construction work or as a professional chef.
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