Sexual harassment isn’t a rare occurrence, It’s not surprising anymore, and that’s exactly the problem.

 

Man invading woman's space

We’ve made a culture where catcalls are passed off as insignificant, creepy DM’s are shared and laughed at, and victims are made to feel like they asked for it. This isn't happening in back alleys or in some sketchy office with a sleazy boss. It’s happening in schools, at work, in retail jobs, in bars, online. But the most disturbing thing is that it’s happening so often that many people just treat it as normal

Catcall silhouette

Here’s the truth: sexual harassment should never “just part of life.” It's a violation to human rights. It’s an abuse of power, of space, and of innocent people’s rights to simply exist without being reduced to an object for pleasure. The more we normalize it, the more we protect the people who do it and humiliate the victims who speak up.

No more excuses sign

You’d think by now after the MeToo movement, lawsuits, Youtuber after Youtuber being exposed and tearful celebrity apologies, that America would’ve started to act together on sexual harassment.. However, if you've ever worked in a restaurant, you know the truth: harassment isn’t just surviving, it’s cultivating in the back of the walk-in fridge and getting served right alongside the $25 burgers.

Chain restaurants are ground zero for modern sexual harassment incidents. It’s where managers control shifts, tips are everything, and “the customer is always right” have been weaponized into a get out of jail free card for creeps. It’s no coincidence that the food industry is reported as one of the highest offenders when it comes to harassment and violence. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission , more sexual harassment claims exist amongst the restaurant industry than almost any other.(EEOC, 2023) So the real question is: Why is this still happening in 21st century America?

The short answer? Because harassment is still easier to ignore than to confront—especially because money’s involved.

In restaurants, harassment is often treated like siblings fighting. Light reprimanding with no real consequences  When a line cook makes a comment about your ass, you’re supposed to laugh it off. If that same cook keeps looking at your chest, you’re supposed to ignore it and keep doing your job. It’s “part of the job,” they say, like getting burned or slicing your finger. And if you complain? You’re “too sensitive.” and you’re “Blowing it out of proportion.” And you lose your shifts.

This toxic normalization is what keeps the cycle going. Victims are silenced not just by fear, but for their survival. For many, these jobs aren’t side hustles; they’re lifelines. And speaking up risks their rent money, tuition and food. So they’re forced to stay quiet by the invisible corporate hand with a hold on their necks.

Employee being controlled like a puppet

 

And the industry thrives on that silence. Silence means less complaints. Less complaints mean that the people who are harassing can keep flipping burgers or frying chicken to keep working and make corporate more money, it means HR has less paperwork and needs to spend less time out of their sanctuary. Silence is profitable to them, it's easier to sweep a girl’s trauma under the rug than to train a manager to notice and effectively handle the problem. It’s easier to let the employees police each other, to tell the new girl “don’t talk to him,” than it is to have a system where there wouldn't even be a “him” to hire

And what’s crazy, that even though policies exist, such as sexual harassment training videos, posters in the breakroom. Reports show that the reality is that they often serve more as legal shields against lawsuits than effective protection for employees. (Dobbin & Kalev, 2019) They’re designed to protect the company against lawsuits instead. It becomes an act: check a box to avoid liability and pretend the problem is solved.

But paper rules don’t matter when the country encourages silence.

Woman silenced

You can tell people to report harassment all you want, but when it comes to retaliation against the offender, That's where it stops. Management shrugs it off or jokes about it, portraying it as insignificant enough to take action on. This is so severe the policy might as well not exist. And the people who suffer most are those with the least experience and influence : young workers, and especially young women who are almost always placed in greeting roles and expected to keep smiling no matter what.

This isn’t about being politically correct, or saying that enforcing policies will deter employees. No, that's stupid. This is about protecting the dignity and safety of human beings who show up every day to do hard, exhausting work. It’s about the emotional labor that never makes it onto the paycheck. It’s about the deep, unseen harm that builds over time, when someone spends their whole shift on edge, bracing for the next inappropriate interaction or lingering stare.

So what’s the fix?

It starts with listening.

Woman listening

Believing victims. Taking every complaint seriously, even the ones that seem “small” or “harmless.” It means holding employees accountable too, not just staff. Just because someone has been there longer doesn’t give them the right to treat their coworkers like playthings. It means not promoting toxic managers because “they know the system.” It means paying attention to the environment you’re creating and having the guts to change it.

Because no one should have to choose between dignity and a paycheck.

Until we decide that sexual harassment in the workplace, especially in the service industry is worth more than the price of a burger combo, nothing will change.

People will inevitably keep getting hurt.

Stop harassment sign