Why Is Sexual Harassment Training So Bad? And How Can We Make It Better?

It’s time to rethink sexual harassment training

What comes to mind when you think of sexual harassment training? Cringeworthy 90s videos? Corny acting, cheesy dialogue, and insultingly obvious questions about whether Dave’s creepy behavior constitutes sexual harassment?

It’s no wonder annual sexual harassment training triggers more eye rolls among employees than real learning or behavior change. Traditional methods aren’t working. And that’s a problem, because sexual harassment remains rampant in the workplace, with devastating costs to victims and businesses. At least 42% of women and 15% of men say they’ve been sexually harassed at work—stats that, alarmingly, haven’t budged since the 1980s.

Clearly, companies and employee training or HR teams have a lot of work to do. It’s time to stop recycling the same ineffective programs and expecting different results. In this article, we unpack the pitfalls of traditional sexual harassment training and share research-based strategies to achieve better outcomes.

4 ways to prevent sexual harassment with better online training 

Fix #1: Elevate your anti-harassment training design 

If your compliance training videos feature actors donning shoulder pads and bad 80s hairstyles, then they need updating. Dated, low-quality training not only fails to capture employees’ attention, but it also sends a negative message about company priorities. If a company only puts in the minimum effort to check a compliance box, then how can they expect employees to take the training seriously?

Demonstrate your organization’s commitment to a harassment-free workplace by revamping the look, feel, and quality of your sexual harassment training. For instance, transform stale slide-based content or old employee handbooks into modern, interactive, and media-rich online learning experiences. Additionally, enhance the production value of online training videos to meet contemporary standards.

Fix #2: Give more realistic and nuanced scenarios

In the age of #MeToo, most adults can identify egregious examples of prohibited behaviors in the workplace. While sexual harassment awareness training should still cover these basic definitions, laws, and types of harassment, it also needs to go beyond the obvious cases.

Incorporate more nuanced scenarios that will challenge learners to pause and meaningfully engage with the material. As one of many potential examples, imagine a scenario in which the learner witnesses sexual harassment—but the victim asks them not to report it for fear of retaliation. Should the employee report the harassment or respect the victim’s wishes?

Alternatively, employees might not realize that even blatant cases of sexual harassment regularly occur in today’s workplace. That’s why it can also be helpful to share true stories and clearly indicate that those experiences are real—not hypothetical. The #ThatsHarassment PSA campaign is a powerful example that uses high production-quality videos to illustrate real-life experiences. 

Fix #3: Focus on bystander intervention training

Here’s another issue with traditional sexual harassment training: It treats learners as potential harassers or victims. Approaching the audience from this angle is problematic for several reasons. First, employees may automatically reject these labels and subsequently disregard the materials as irrelevant or inapplicable to them. And secondly, those who are most likely to engage in sexual harassment are also least likely to be receptive to anti-harassment training. So, what’s the solution?

Studies indicate that bystander intervention training is one of the most powerful tools for combating harassment and disrespect in the workplace. 

One nonprofit study found that bystander intervention training led 67% of attendees to take action after witnessing harassment in the workplace. Another study by the U.S. military found that soldiers who received bystander training were significantly more likely to report intervening than those who did not.

These stats show promise for L&D specialists. To improve behavioral outcomes, develop sexual harassment prevention training that addresses learners as allies—not victims or harassers. Provide bystanders with behavior-based tips for spotting harassment in the workplace, intervening safely and effectively, and reporting incidents. You might also include sample scripts for confronting harassers or checking in with victims.  

Fix #4: Test employees’ understanding of materials upfront

Finally, employees who assume they already know the learning materials are less likely to pay attention—and compliance training’s annual cadence only makes this problem worse. By testing employees’ existing knowledge upfront, you can nip their assumptions in the bud.

Start sexual harassment training with a role-playing scenario or quiz at the beginning instead of waiting until the final exam at the end. This approach allows you to reveal knowledge gaps early—both proving to employees that training is necessary and encouraging them to engage with the material and discover where they went wrong. You might also allow employees to test out of sections where they demonstrate high competence, providing another incentive for paying close attention to assessments.

Sexual harassment prevention training doesn’t have to be painful

Traditional workplace sexual harassment training is unengaging, overly simplistic, and ineffective. It often features text-heavy legalese or cheesy video scripts that fail to capture the nuance of real-world sexual harassment scenarios. Worse, it convinces employees that training isn’t relevant or worth their time. The good news is that there’s a clear path for improvement. By making these simple, evidence-based fixes, employers can go beyond checking a compliance box and start making meaningful workplace behavior changes. 

Looking for additional compliance training inspiration? Check out this article from our e-learning heroes community, Satisfy Your Training Requirements With These Compliance Examples.