19 year old Miya Marcano, a beautiful young woman who had just entered adulthood, was murdered by her coworker after he had been rejected by her numerous times. Again and again, he made advances towards her after she stated that she was not interested in pursuing a relationship with him. Making advances towards someone who has previously rejected you is defined as sexual harassment. Although federal law prohibits these acts, more than one third of women (although this is likely significantly higher) continue to experience sexual harassment in the workplace. The law states that employers can be held liable if the harassment “is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment.”

Except that the first time this occurs, the victim is often already offended and uncomfortable. 

Miya Marcano’s family’s attorney stated that her murder was 100% preventable and that those who were responsible for keeping her safe will be held accountable. Currently, Florida has no laws mandating the reporting of sexual harassment in the workplace. Many employees are mandated to report suspected child abuse cases. Both children and adults have the right to feel safe and comfortable at school and in the workplace. 

We are calling upon all Florida senators to enact a law that mandates the reporting of sexual harassment in the workplace in honor of Miya. If people are faced with consequences for not reporting, witnesses or those who are aware of it will feel more inclined to do so. Human Resource departments should be held accountable by firing those who commit these acts, as opposed to doing absolutely nothing, as is often the case. Taking little to no action whilst being aware of the incident is being complicit with the act itself. Florida is an at will state, which means that employees can be terminated for any reason and without advanced warning. Yet, countless workplaces continue to let perpetrators to keep their jobs and allow them to continue interacting with their victims. Workplaces should have a ZERO TOLERANCE policy for sexual harassment. 

All places of employment should be MANDATED to enact trainings that define what sexual harassment is, and what consequences will ensue if it occurs.

Too often, victims do not report due to fear of retaliation or due to the fact that often times, nothing will be done. They are told things such as, “Our hands are tied. We can’t do anything unless this person does something more serious.” This is a disgrace to countless women AND men who have experienced sexual harassment at work. Nobody should ever be made to feel uncomfortable or unsafe in the workplace. 

Although many places of employment claim to take this issue seriously, many of them do not. Sexual harassment IS serious. It is time that the workplace start acting like it is. There should be NO excuse for this behavior. Miya’s workplace and so many others’ have failed to keep victims of sexual harassment safe and comfortable. It is time to do everything we can to finally take a stand against this abhorrent behavior.