What to Do If You are Sexually Harassed in College? LA Attorney Answers Being sexually harassed can be a devastating experience that scars you emotionally and mentally for a long time. The damage you face can haunt you for the rest of your life. That is why it is important to ensure that the person who perpetrated this atrocious act must be punished. If these deeds go unpunished, it will only get worse, so what should you do after being sexually harassed in school or college? Lodging a Title IX complaint In the U.S, all schools receiving any form of federal grant are entitled to prioritizing sexual harassment cases. That even involves private schools, if they receive any form of grant from the federal government, the school has that legal obligation. Immediately after the incident, you should lodge a Title IX complaint with the school so it can launch an internal investigation and contact a sexual harassment lawyer. Even if the incident did not take place on campus, if the perpetrator is part of the school, a Title IX complaint is necessary. If you don’t feel safe with that individual around the school campus, ask the teachers or headmaster to take interim measures to make it a bit safer for yourself. Laying criminal charges Please note that a Title IX complaint is not the same as laying criminal charges on the perpetrator. The Title IX complaint does not involve the police or litigation so you should do this separately. There is no problem with laying a complaint with the school and reporting the incident to the authorities. Also, laying criminal charges should not interfere with the school’s internal investigation. It must be followed through and seen to completion. On the other hand, you should search for “sexual harassment lawyer near me” to get this issue resolved in a court. What to do if the school does not respond to your complaints? Sometimes the school or college you are in might treat the sexual harassment Title IX complaint with great insouciance. If that is the case, you have the right to lay a formal complaint against the school itself for this. The college or school personnel responsible for resolving cases as this one should personally make that you get updates on the progress of the investigation.