For many survivors of sexual assault, safety, stability, and recovery are tied to their jobs – yet workplace protections remain uneven across North Carolina
For the past 25 years, the National Sexual Violence Resource Center has helped lead Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), uniting survivors, advocates, and communities around a shared goal: ending sexual assault, abuse, and harassment. This anniversary is both a moment to acknowledge progress and a reminder that the work is not yet complete. This year’s theme, “25 Years Stronger: Looking Back, Moving Forward,” captures that dual purpose.
But as we reflect on how far we’ve come, it’s also critical to confront a reality that is often overlooked: sexual violence is not only a personal or public health issue – it is deeply connected to economic stability and the conditions of our workplaces. In fact, unfair and unsafe labor practices put an increased burden of sexual violence – both inside and outside of the workplace – on already marginalized communities.
“There is a huge mental and physical toll that experiencing sexual violence takes on survivors,” says Jamilia Martineau-Lopez, Prevention Capacity Building Manager at the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NCCASA). “The trauma of sexual violence ripples out. Whether they know it or not, everyone in a survivor’s life experiences the impacts of it.”
Those impacts extend beyond emotional and physical health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the lifetime economic burden of rape is estimated in the trillions nationwide – driven by costs related to healthcare, lost job productivity for both survivors and perpetrators, law enforcement, legal, correctional costs, and more. For individual survivors, that often translates into lost wages, disrupted careers, and long-term financial instability.
In fact, a national study found that 1 in 7 women and 1 in 17 men have taken steps such as changing jobs, requesting new assignments, or leaving the workforce altogether because of sexual harassment or assault. For many survivors, leaving a job is not a choice – it is a necessity for safety.
And yet, not everyone has that option.
“What happens to our community members who do not have workplace protections?” Martineau-Lopez asks. “Every person has the right to work in an environment free of violence and discrimination. No individual should have to protect themselves from harassment or abuse just to earn a living or sacrifice their safety and healing to stay employed.”
This is where the conversation shifts – from individual responsibility to systemic accountability.
“A lot of my job is making the connection that sexual violence is also a labor issue,” she says.
Workers who are most vulnerable to sexual violence are often the same individuals who face economic insecurity and limited workplace protections. These include people in low-wage jobs, highly gendered industries, workplaces with significant power imbalances, and environments where workers may be undocumented or lack access to stable employment. “People who are already marginalized have a harder time getting or staying employed in stable and safe workplaces,” Martineau-Lopez explains. “And not having access to the economic stability of safe and secure work increases a person’s risk of experiencing sexual violence.”
In North Carolina, these challenges are compounded by broader labor conditions. The state has long ranked among the least supportive for workers, and those most impacted by weak labor protections are often the same populations most affected by sexual violence. Workplace harassment and assault remain common, underreported, and too often enabled by systems that lack strong safeguards.
“It’s not actually the responsibility of any individual to prevent themselves from being sexually assaulted,” Martineau-Lopez emphasizes. “It’s really on employers and state leaders to have protections at work.”
There are steps forward.
Evidence-based strategies show that safer workplaces – and stronger protections – can reduce the risk of sexual violence. Policies such as clear anti-harassment standards, robust paid leave, confidential reporting systems that prevent retaliation, and trauma-informed workplace practices all help create environments where employees are protected and supported. Such protections prevent sexual violence from happening in and outside the workplace by strengthening economic supports and reducing survivors’ risk of being revictimized.
North Carolina has taken some steps, including allowing individuals who leave their jobs due to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking to be eligible for unemployment insurance benefits. But more comprehensive action is needed to ensure that all workers – regardless of industry, income, or immigration status – can work safely and with dignity. Currently, North Carolina lacks a mandatory, statewide, comprehensive paid family and medical leave program, leaving only about 12 percent of employees with access to paid leave. While state employees receive paid parental leave (up to 8-12 weeks), no state law requires private employers to provide paid sick or family leave.
“North Carolina has a long history of not prioritizing workers,” Martineau-Lopez says. “The only way we’re going to end sexual violence is if that changes, because economic stability is one of the core ways we prevent sexual violence and protect survivors. Without being able to change that, we’re making our jobs harder.”
Ending sexual violence requires more than awareness. It requires aligning policies, workplace practices, and economic systems with what we know prevents harm and supports healing.
The North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault is an inclusive, statewide alliance working to end sexual violence through education, advocacy, and legislation. If you are experiencing sexual violence in North Carolina and need help, use this tool to find your county’s rape crisis center.
If you are interested in learning more about workplace policies and other community-led efforts to prevent sexual violence, contact NCCASA’s Prevention Capacity Building Manager, Jamilia Martineau-Lopez, jamilia@nccasa.org.
If you or someone you know needs support – or if you’re working to create safer workplaces – these resources can help: