Several high-profile workplace sexual harassment cases are causing some North Texas colleges to consider how to keep their students safe off-campus.
"One of the concerning things is how hard it's been for victims to report the abuse that's been going on," said Ginny Lopez-Kidwell, an assistant professor at the University of North Texas College of Business in Denton.
Those challenges can be difficult when the alleged violator is a co-worker. It is possibly harder for college interns.
"You're going to be very low status when you join the organization," said Lopez-Kidwell. "Usually it's not a very glamorous job."
UNT is one school that has had conversations about how interns can protect themselves from harassing situations.
"You want to do well, and you may be more likely to accept a variety of behavior," she said.
Lopez-Kidwell instructs interns to know their rights and know company policies regarding sexual harassment.
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"If you can, I'd stop the conversation and say, 'Nothing good will come from this behavior,'" she said.
Down the road at Texas Woman's University in Denton, the school recently joined a recruitment site called Handshake. Employers are given "trust scores," based on feedback from universities. If a business doesn't meet a minimum "trust score," that company isn't allowed to post internships on the TWU site.
Lopez-Kidwell says UNT interns should not be afraid to take sexual harassment complaints to a company's human resources department. She also advises students to do their research on internships to make sure they're comfortable with the company's culture.
"The best way to prevent that behavior is make it unacceptable in the beginning," she said.
