Sexual Harassment, Power and Barriers to Access to Justice

In the context of workplace sexual harassment, recognizing and addressing the inequalities that Black women face in seeking access to justice remains a pertinent issue. This article discusses aspects of the author’s empirical work on the role of Black women’s intersectional identities in influencing their tendency to seek redress for these harms in England and Wales. It draws on intersectionality theory and Rebecca Sandefur’s framing of inequalities which shape how individuals engage with legal and legal-like institutions. The article refines Sandefur’s understanding of inequalities by demonstrating how different aspects of identity interact with power to influence an individual’s decision about pursuing formal avenues of redress. It argues that the participants’ decisions on whether to seek legal recourse are shaped by their assumptions about judges and lawyers not recognizing their experiences or giving due credibility to their grievances. The participants’ perceptions also influence their willingness to use legal resources to access justice. Keywords: access to justice; intersectionality; sexual harassment; power.