Workplace Sexual Assault: The Silence That’s Costing America Its Workforce

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Sexual assault reports have dropped in the last few years, but that doesn’t mean things are getting better. If anything, it shows fewer people feel safe speaking up. And in most cases, the person doing the assaulting is someone in power—a boss, supervisor, or higher-up who thinks their title protects them. Workplace sexual assaults destroy employees’ mental health and their ability to do their jobs, and the silence around it lets abusers keep operating. In both civilian workplaces and the U.S. military, fear and lack of support trap survivors in years of trauma.

People see the decline in reports and assume it means sexual assault is “less common now,” but that’s just not true. What’s growing is the fear. Survivors stay quiet because they’re scared of losing their job, being punished, or getting labeled as a troublemaker. In healthcare, where hospital leadership holds huge power, this fear is even worse. Sexual Assaults in Scrubs shows how some hospitals threaten, transfer, or isolate workers who try to report harassment. Administrators often care more about protecting their image than protecting their staff. When your abuser controls your schedule and job security, it’s easy to feel like speaking up will ruin your life. So the drop in reports doesn’t mean fewer assaults, it means fewer people feel safe telling the truth.

And the damage doesn’t end when the workday ends. Sexual assault has long-term effects on mental and physical health. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, about 22% of adults ages 18–29 struggle with anxiety, and sexual violence is one of the major causes. Trauma changes people. It affects their sleep, concentration, and their ability to perform basic job tasks. Texas A&M Health’s Vital Record reports that almost half of all sexual assault survivors develop PTSD. That’s not a small impact, that's a national workforce crisis.

It’s not just mental health either. A new 2025 study in the Journal of Trauma & Dissociation found that female military veterans who experienced sexual trauma also suffered physical problems like lower urinary tract symptoms and fecal incontinence, showing how deep the damage can go. The authors explain that MST is “significantly associated with LUTS and FI,” meaning sexual assault affects the body in ways most people never talk about. That’s not just “emotional pain.” That’s a lifetime of medical complications because someone in power abused them.

And in the military, the silence is even louder.

According to PTSD from Sexual Assaults in the Military, countless service members never report what happened because they fear retaliation or being pushed out. Some are told directly not to say anything. Others are ignored when they try. One former soldier said he was only 18 when he was assaulted, and even after he reported it, leadership brushed it aside. When the people who swear to protect this country can't protect their own troops from predators inside the ranks, we have a serious failure of leadership.

Male survivors especially stay silent. A 2025 article in the American Journal of Men’s Health explains how traditional masculinity norms discourage men from reporting or even seeking help. The study says many men fear being seen as “weak” or not believed, which leads to “suppressed trauma and delayed mental health care.” So the silence isn’t a sign the problem is going away, it's a sign people are suffering alone because they don’t think the system will protect them.

Some people argue that not every survivor ends up with long-term trauma. Sure, some people heal faster. But that doesn’t change the bigger issue: silence only helps abusers. Every unreported assault gives predators more chances to harm someone else. And it sends the message that speaking up isn’t worth it.

We’ve seen this in hospitals, the military, retail, factories, everywhere. There are people who kept their jobs for years because survivors were too scared to report them  and they hurt more people along the way. Many survivors say they later wished they had reported sooner, not because they wanted revenge, but because they wanted to stop the next victim from going through the same thing. That’s what silence does  to protect the wrong people.

Workplace sexual assault also harms the country in ways politicians don’t like to talk about. When workers leave their jobs because of trauma, productivity drops. Staffing shortages rise. Businesses lose experienced people they depend on. America already has workforce shortages and ignoring sexual assault makes those shortages even worse. Protecting workers from abuse should be part of protecting the economy, but too many leaders ignore that reality.

Speaking up is one of the only ways to break the cycle. When survivors come forward, they show the world how widespread this problem really is. Their voices have already led to change. According to Ms. Magazine, updates to the military funding bill created stronger protections for service members, including new systems to handle sexual assault cases more fairly. But these policies didn’t appear out of nowhere  they happened because survivors refused to stay silent.

Still, policies don’t mean anything if no one enforces them. The National Sexual Violence Resource Center says awareness campaigns are useless without accountability. Titles and ranks shouldn’t allow predators to hide behind a badge, a uniform, or a corporate logo.

And we need to stop acting like sexual assault is only a women’s issue. It affects men, women, LGBTQ people, young workers, older workers, everyone. Assault doesn’t care about identity. Every person deserves a safe workplace and a system that actually listens when something goes wrong.

Now, let’s address the opposing views, because plenty of people still try to dismiss this issue. Some claim workplace sexual assault is “overblown,” or that victims are “too sensitive,” especially in high-pressure jobs like the military or healthcare. Others argue that reporting systems have improved so much that the problem is basically solved, and that talking about trauma only makes workers “weaker.” But when you look at the evidence, those arguments fall apart instantly. Studies prove sexual trauma causes real physical and psychological damage not “hurt feelings,” but PTSD, anxiety disorders, and even the urinary and bowel conditions documented in the Journal of Trauma & Dissociation. So when critics say the issue is exaggerated, what they’re actually doing is defending a system that protects predators and intimidates survivors. Ignoring the problem doesn’t make workplaces stronger, it traps victims in silence and rewards the people hurting them.

The drop in reports isn’t progress, it's a warning sign. When employees don’t feel safe speaking up, trauma spreads, and workplaces lose good people. No one should have to choose between their mental health and their paycheck. If we push for accountability, enforce stronger protections, and put consequences on abusers instead of survivors, we can finally start breaking the silence.

Every report matters. Every survivor matters. And silence protects the wrong people.