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Recruiting LLMs to Create a Response Toolkit for Girls and Women Experiencing Nonsexual Harassment
January 19, 2026Costs and Benefits Before Girls and Women Addressing Non-sexual Harassment: LLMs Provide A Realistic Assessment
How large language models map risks, benefits, and options for girls and women addressing non-sexual harassment, and support safer, informed help-seeking.
This is Article No.3a under the Human-Tech Partnership Series
Costs and Benefits Before Girls and Women Addressing Non-sexual Harassment: LLMs Provide a Realistic Assessment explores how large language models can become practical allies for girls and women facing non-sexual harassment by clarifying the risks and benefits of seeking help and offering self-empowering strategies. It juxtaposes two AI-generated strands: a Copilot-led risk–benefit analysis and historical examples, and a ChatGPT-led toolkit that focuses on resilience, safety, and informed decision-making in real-world contexts
The previous article in the Human-Tech Partnership Series (click here to read the previous article) invited LLMs to characterize nonsexual harassment of girls and women. The significant challenge posed to policy makers, in this regard, requires contributions at the individual, societal and institutional levels. However, it appears that a new and arguably equal partner in the effort to address non-sexual harassment may be emerging in the form of LLMs.
LLMs have been conceived of as a repository of the collective information and shared history of humankind. LLMs could, additionally, help users become more aware of biases, such as the Confirmation Bias, drawing attention to evidence that is not consistent with the user’s hypothesis, or to approaches that reinterpret contradictory evidence, thereby forcing an alignment with their hypothesis. A selective search for data that bolster a particular belief and a refusal to incorporate data that refute it, are tendencies that can be offset by the active participation of LLMs which can provide well-rounded, multifaceted points of view.
While various members of society work tirelessly to create usable policy recommendations and assistive programs towards mitigation of non-sexual harassment of girls and women, LLMs could help increase chances of successful implementation, providing both practical assistance as well as a sensitive reading of the externalities associated with the addressal of non-sexual harassment.
In the following prompted articles Microsoft’s Copilot delineates the risks and benefits associated with the addressing of non-sexual harassment of girls and women, while ChatGPT puts together a toolkit for those experiencing non-sexual harassment, emphasising an approach oriented towards self-empowerment.
Questions to Consider:
How might the ChatGPT Toolkit incorporate Copilot’s risk-benefit analysis to refine its solutions?
How might Copilot and ChatGPT together support girls and women in their effort to remain safe and lead normal lives in the face of non-sexual harassment?
Copilot Writes 1 – Risks and Benefits of Addressing Non-sexual Harassment
Seeking help for non-sexual harassment offers both empowerment and protection, but it also carries risks such as retaliation, stigma, or institutional inaction. Academic research highlights these trade-offs, and real-world cases illustrate both the dangers and the potential gains.
Risks of Seeking Help
- Retaliation from perpetrators: Women who report workplace bullying or verbal harassment often face backlash, including exclusion from projects or career stagnation. Studies show that fear of retaliation is a major deterrent to reporting ijmrtjournal.com.
- Stigma and victim-blaming: Help-seeking can expose women to negative stereotypes, where they are perceived as “overreacting” or “weak.” This discourages disclosure and may worsen psychological distress BMJ Public Health.
- Institutional barriers: Research indicates that organizational responses are frequently inadequate, with complaints dismissed or minimized, leaving women feeling unsupported ijmrtjournal.com.
- Intersectional disadvantages: Women from marginalized groups (e.g., racial minorities, LGBTQ+, or economically disadvantaged) face compounded risks when seeking help, including discrimination within support systems journals.plos.org.
Benefits of Seeking Help
- Institutional accountability: Reporting harassment can trigger organizational reforms, such as stricter policies and awareness programs, fostering safer environments ijmrtjournal.com.
- Empowerment and solidarity: Help-seeking connects women with advocacy groups, unions, or peer networks, strengthening resilience and collective action BMJ Public Health.
- Legal and career protection: Formal complaints may lead to legal remedies or workplace adjustments that safeguard women’s rights and professional growth ijmrtjournal.com.
Real-Life Examples
- Risk – Retaliation Case (United States, 2018): A female employee at a major tech company reported persistent workplace bullying (non-sexual harassment). Following her complaint, she was sidelined from projects and eventually left the company. Media coverage documented how her career trajectory was negatively impacted, illustrating the risk of retaliation despite formal reporting ijmrtjournal.com.
- Benefit – Legal Protection Case (India, 2019): In a documented case, a woman working in a government office reported verbal harassment and intimidation. Her complaint led to an internal inquiry, resulting in disciplinary action against the perpetrator and the introduction of stronger anti-harassment policies in the department. This case highlights how help-seeking can lead to institutional accountability and safer workplaces ijmrtjournal.com.
Conclusion
Academic literature underscores that help-seeking is a double-edged sword: while it can empower women, improve mental health, and drive systemic change, it also exposes them to retaliation, stigma, and institutional shortcomings. The balance between risk and benefit depends heavily on organizational culture, legal frameworks, and the presence of supportive networks. Strengthening institutional responses and reducing stigma are critical to ensuring that women can seek help without fear.
Sources: journals.plos.org, BMJ Public Health, ijmrtjournal.com
CoPilot Writes 2: Historical Examples of Risks and Benefits of Addressing Non-sexual Harassment
Women historically faced both serious risks and meaningful benefits when seeking help for non-sexual harassment. Two documented risks include retaliation and marginalization, while two benefits include institutional reform and empowerment through collective action.
Historical Risks
- Retaliation in the Civil Rights Movement: Women active in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement often reported harassment within activist circles. When they sought help, many faced retaliation or dismissal, as male leaders prioritized racial justice over gender concerns. This sidelining pushed women toward the feminist movement in the 1970s Library of Congress.
- Marginalization in workplaces: UN Women’s historical review shows that women in industrial and service sectors who reported bullying or verbal harassment were often labeled “troublemakers.” This stigma limited career advancement and reinforced gender hierarchies knowledge.unwomen.org.
Historical Benefits
- Legal reforms in India: Court decisions in India during the late 20th century addressed women’s workplace harassment complaints (non-sexual as well as sexual). These rulings strengthened constitutional protections for equality and led to clearer workplace grievance mechanisms Centre for Law & Policy Research.
- Collective empowerment in grassroots movements: Women’s Self-Help Groups in Kerala (1990s onward) provided safe spaces to report intimidation and harassment. Seeking help through these networks not only reduced isolation but also empowered women economically and socially, reshaping local governance structures IJRAR.
Summary Table
| Category | Example | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Risk | Civil Rights Movement retaliation | Women sidelined, gender concerns ignored Library of Congress |
| Risk | Workplace marginalization | Victims labeled “troublemakers,” careers stalled knowledge.unwomen.org |
| Benefit | Indian legal reforms | Stronger constitutional protections, grievance mechanisms Centre for Law & Policy Research |
| Benefit | Grassroots | Collective support, economic and social empowerment in Kerala IJRAR |
Conclusion
From a historical perspective, risks often involved retaliation and stigma, while benefits included systemic reforms and collective empowerment. These examples show that helpseeking has always been a double-edged sword: it could expose women to further harm, but it also laid the groundwork for broader social and legal change.
Sources: PLOS One review journals.plos.org, UN Women handbook knowledge.unwomen.org, CLPR report on Indian court decisions Centre for Law & Policy Research, IJRAR study on empowerment in Indian history IJRAR, Library of Congress Civil Rights History Project Library of Congress.
- Article 1 – Language Models and Training Data: A Mutual Learning Partnership
- Article 2 – Non-Sexual Harassment: What LLMs Can Bring to the Discussion!
Dr Monika Krishan is a Senior Fellow (Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence) at the Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR), Kochi, Kerala, India.
Views expressed by the authors are personal and need not reflect or represent the views of the Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR).
Dr Monika Krishan's academic background includes a Master’s in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India and a Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA. Her research interests include image processing, psychovisual perception of textures, perception of animacy, goal based inference, perception of uncertainty and invariance detection in visual and non-visual domains.
Dr Krishan's areas of study also include the impact of artificial intelligence devices on human cognition from the developmental stages of the human brain, through adulthood, all the way through the aging process, and the resulting impact on the socio-cognitive health of society. She has worked on several projects on the cognitive aspects of the use and misuse of technology in social and antisocial contexts at SERC, IISc as well as the development of interactive graphics for Magnetic Resonance Imaging systems at Siemens.
