Harassment in Fast Food

 

LEAH CEDULA ANTHONY DOLLENTAS Staff Writers

 

Awareness of sexual harassment in the workplace has recently spread further, including to the fast food sector. Several female McDonald’s employees in California and Florida recently spoke up about harassment including unwelcome hugging, back rubs, spanking and purposeful brushing up against them. These victims included a 15-year-old girl.

“It is important that everyone is safe,” senior Charlotte Allais said. “It’s a basic human right.”

Low wage workers are among those at the highest risk for sexual harassment because their bosses are of lower status, according to The Atlantic.

“You will hear us today,” McDonald’s worker Adriana Alvarez said during a recent strike. “We will not stay silent any more.”

Sexual harassment has been shown to compromise the health of victims, making them subject to heart attacks, depression and anxiety.

Many workers have fast food as their first job and they are not sure what counts as typical or normal behavior from a boss or coworker.

“Oftentimes, they aren’t sure if the behavior is OK or not because these are not discussions we have at school,” psychologist C. Vaile Wright said. “If this is a first job and this is the culture you see, you might not know that’s inappropriate.”

According to USA Today, more than 76 percent of women ages 18- 24 and 35 percent of men report having been sexually harassed at work.