An Intern’s Vulnerability
College years are a pivotal point in an aspiring young professional’s life. Some students would do anything for an internship. Limited availability and being nearly an absolute necessity for success, makes it difficult to achieve and land a decent internship. Interns are without a doubt the most vulnerable people in the workforce due to their young age and desperate need for experience. The abuse of power in the workplace is far too commonplace and it trickles down to interns because they’d be considered the weakest in terms of job security and merit. Even the most powerful man in the country was guilty of inappropriate behavior with an intern. “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky” is what Bill Clinton said after rumors surfaced of him cheating on his wife, Hillary Clinton, with then-White House intern Monica Lewinsky. At the time it seemed consensual and mutual, but that doesn’t mean it’s right on any grounds.
At the time, Lewinsky was young, impressionable and enamored with Clinton because of his candor, charm, and ultimately, the power he held in being the President of the United States. There’s a reason why it was such a scandal that led to the impeachment of Clinton. It’s most definitely not a good look and was taken care of before it normalized unethical behavior. The #MeToo movement has set the pace in terms of dialogue when it comes to sexual harassment in the workplace. So many women came up and spoke out against the heinous and terrible acts of sexual harassment that they’ve experienced from mostly their male employers. From Harvey Weinstein, to Louis C.K, to even Aziz Ansari, all have been culpable of at least inappropriate behavior when it comes to women and abusing their power. Most of these women who spoke out had some sort of job security and had established their careers. Imagine interns?
Interns are essentially powerless because of their aforementioned desperation for experience. The #MeToo movement shed a light on issues that are much bigger than work experience. There was never any mentioning of interns being cautious when it comes to workplace predators. It was always pep talks and encouragement like “you can do it!” It was never “be careful with creeps and men who abuse their power!” An article on USA Today written on March of this year mentioned “We know that if you are an unpaid intern (another outrage for another conversation), you aren’t covered by federal anti-harassment and discrimination law, although you may have Title IX protections through your university.” This quote, in my opinion, is thoroughly shocking. Not only is it unethical to produce labor for free, but federal discrimination laws don’t apply?! It’s just outrageous for this to be a statement of fact. Federal appeals courts just throw out claims just because that person is an unpaid intern. That is much more damning then not getting paid for internships.
In the midst of all sexual misconduct cases that are commonplace in today’s society, interns are at a higher risk of experiencing inappropriate behavior and harassment. Their vulnerability is way too high to ignore and there must be actions to protect them. At such a tender and developing age, it can cause serious damage if it ever got too far. The conversation must continue to ensure the safety of this generation and future generations to come.
