Employment website CareerBuilder.com recently released results of a December survey about sexual harassment. Seventy-two percent of survey respondents who experienced sexual harassment at work didn’t report it. I was not surprised.

In my previous 20 years employment at 9to5, National Association of Working Women, I answered calls about sexual harassment on 9to5’s Job Survival Helpline and trained thousands of Coloradans in community workshops, corporate and non-profit training sessions, and college classes about steps to take at work and through the legal system to stop and prevent harassment. While one step I encourage is reporting, I found that most women hadn’t.

Many women I spoke with were like Hazel (name changed). When I first encouraged Hazel to report a co-worker who made explicit sexual remarks despite her repeated objections, she hesitated because she had seen other women who reported harassment assigned worse shifts and given bad reviews.

As the #MeToo movement has shown, far too many women have suffered workplace sexual harassment in silence for far too long. Not without good cause, when each does her personal calculations to weigh advantages and risks of reporting. CareerBuilder survey participants said they didn’t report because they didn’t want to be labeled troublemakers, it was their word against the harassers’ word, or they were afraid of losing their jobs. All legitimate and real concerns.

Why has it been so hard for women to come forward? Fear is the main reason – fear of not being believed, fear of being humiliated, ostracized or blamed, fear of damaging her career or reputation, fear of losing a job, fear that nothing will be done.

Too often, the behavior of the harassed person becomes the issue, rather than the behavior of the harasser. We’ve seen after recent revelations in the political and entertainment worlds that harassers deny, deny, deny – often no matter how many accusers and witnesses and how much evidence backs up the charges. We’ve seen harassers repeatedly try to shift blame onto those they’ve harassed, attacking them in the media, doing their best to intimidate them into silence.

There are other reasons. Many who experience sexual harassment feel embarrassed and confused, isolated and alone. Even when facts are clear, women may ask themselves if they are overreacting or their own behavior is somehow to blame. Many are uncomfortable with conflict, and feel re-victimized whenever they have to recount the harassment to a supervisor, human resources staffperson or investigator. The complaint process may not be clear.

Sexual harassment is an abuse of power used to exert control over individuals with less workplace power or status. It reinforces gender inequality. It’s a huge issue for women in low-wage jobs, women of color, immigrants, LGBTQ people, formerly incarcerated workers. It occurs in all types of jobs, at all levels of the employment ladder, but its greatest impact is on those who are already most impacted by inequality and injustice and have fewer available resources or support. That’s why women of color built #MeToo.

When women have come forward, their complaints are too often ignored. Federal and state anti-discrimination laws say employers can’t retaliate against employees who report sexual harassment, but it’s a fact of life. Sometimes there’s disciplinary action, even firing.

Of the small number of CareerBuilder respondents who reported sexual harassment, 76% said the issue was resolved. In my experience, most women who take action, including Hazel, are glad they did. They feel good if and when the problem stops. They feel good taking a stand, benefiting other employees and improving the workplace.

Letting women know they’re not alone is one reason the #MeToo movement has been so important and received well-deserved recognition and credit. Hazel wasn’t alone back then, and women like her aren’t alone now. There is strength in numbers. Women can and will continue to lead efforts to strengthen policies and laws, here in Colorado and across the country, and hold harassers accountable no matter their position and power. Together, we’ll change workplace and social culture so all women feel safe and empowered to take action.