Sexual harassment (SH) is a widespread phenomenon around the world. Consistent empirical studies as well as cross-national mobilizations continue to highlight its pervasiveness and its negative impact on the victims and the workplace. While the prevalence of SH in the workplace is well documented, the related reporting remains extremely low. The current study aims to shed light on the power dynamics preventing the reporting of sexual harassment in the workplace. To do so, we adopt a critical lens coupled with the legal consciousness framework, which encompasses three key processes -naming, blaming, and claiming- that are pivotal in understanding sexual harassment reporting. Adopting a qualitative methodology, semi-structured interviews were conducted with HR managers in Lebanon. The findings show that power dynamics, at multiple levels (individual, organizational, and societal) prevent victims from reporting. Our main contributions lie in unpacking the power dynamics preventing reporting, and further fleshing it out in relation to naming, blaming, and claiming. From a practical perspective, our findings help us gain a detailed understanding of the low sexual harassment reporting in the workplace.
