Bay Area women provide free, online advice for victims of sexual harassment at work
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The number of people who say they have been sexually harassed at work is growing, but many victims say it can be hard to figure out when and where to get help. Now, two Bay Area women who found themselves in that spot are doing something about it.
TAKE ACTION: Get help with harassment, abuse and inequality
Tammy Cho and Grace Choi's aha moment happened just over a year ago when they read software engineer Susan Fowler's blog, claiming she was sexually harassed by a manager at Uber.
The women say Fowler's blog was the first time they each realized they were not alone in their personal experiences with harassment and discrimination at work. Choi says they soon discovered many of their friends and family members were also dealing with the same issues.
RELATED: 60 SECOND TIPS: What to do if you are sexually harassed at work
Cho and Choi, who met working on a tech industry startup, began spending all their free time gathering information.
"After talking to hundreds of individuals including targets of harassment, human rights lawyers, human resource experts and more, we realized that there was just a huge shortage in terms of knowledge about what your rights or options are," Cho said.
So, they created Better Brave.
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It is a free on line guide for victims of harassment and discrimination and people who want to help them.
BetterBrave provides clear basic answers to a wide range of questions on topics such as: What can you do if you do not have evidence? Should you confront your harasser directly? When should you go to the human resources department or a lawyer?
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Cho and Choi say thousands of women and men from a wide range of professions are using the site. "I was really taken aback by just how deep this problem runs. There are industries that you think would have figured it out by now - but no!" Cho said.
The response has been so overwhelming, the women have now formed a non-profit to provide even more help to victims and their allies.
ABC7 teamed up with Better Brave for a 60 second video with important tips on what to do if you are harassed at work. You can find that and other resources on our ABC7 Allies in Action page at abc7news.com/takeaction.
Written and produced by Jennifer Olney
