Sexual Harassment: To Report or Keep Quiet?

Applied Communication Ethics
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Sexual Harassment
The ethical situation I chose is whether to report a teammate for sexual harassment or not. Sexual harassment Is a common situation in places of work. Sexual harassment is unwelcome sexual advances, verbal or physical harassment of sexual nature, or request for sexual favors in places of work or learning institutions. Sexual harassment occurs in many forms which are not necessarily sexual. For instance, unwanted physical touching, work promotions or employment based on sexual conditions, unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, verbal harassment of sexual, unwanted private photos on email or messages, and physical actions of sexual assault (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission,n.d)). Places of work are meant to be peaceful and comfortable for all workers to be productive. Thus, when sexual harassment occurs, individuals are left in a dilemma of what to do. This paper aims to address whether to report or keep quiet; thus, this paper seeks to address the dilemma of whether to report a colleague for sexual harassment at work or keep quiet using the deontology ethical framework.
Sexual harassment cases involve males and females. However, according to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ( n.d), 78% of sexual harassment cases are filed by women. Some countries have strict legal actions against perpetrators, while others have relaxed rules. In addition, in some instances, the companies are severely punished and given hefty fines in cases of harassment. Thus, sexual harassment is viewed as an ethical issue as it is a global situation in which the perpetrator chooses to ignore moral standards and principles. The perpetrator can be any individual in the workplace; colleagues, supervisors, or even the manager.
The effect of sexual harassment on the victim causes both physical and psychological harm. For instance, it causes distress, low self-esteem, and low career growth. Further, it causes a threat to the victim’s family as the perpetrator might choose to issue threats if the victim chooses to report to the authority. Even though it is the responsibility of any organization to protect its employees, sometimes the firm can choose to ignore some cases to cover its reputation making the Victim vulnerable to ridicule and shame.
Decision-Making Model
Identify the decision.
The first step towards decision-making is to identify the decision to be made. In this case, the decision is whether to report my colleague for sexual harassment or not. The main goal of the decision is to stop the harassment. Thus, to be more specific, I would evaluate the decision and its effectiveness in the work environment before taking any action. 
Gather the Required Information and Evidence 
 The second step in decision-making is gathering as much information as possible. It is essential to determine if harassment is a culture in the organization, if the supervisor and human resources are aware, or if other victims are involved. In addition, I would evaluate the stakeholders involved in the situation. This involves the alleged harasser, the harassed, and any other witness involved. Listening to their side of...