ShareOn Thursday April 12, 2018, the day after the 50th Anniversary of the signing of the Fair Housing Act, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the creation of a new, joint initiative to combat sexual harassment in housing. The initiative consists of (1) a HUD and DOJ interagency task force to combat sexual harassment in housing, (2) an outreach toolkit, and (3) a public awareness campaign.
The newly created HUD-DOJ Task Force to Combat Sexual Harassment in Housing will focus on five key areas: continued data sharing and analysis, joint development of training, evaluation of public housing complaint mechanisms, coordination of public outreach and press strategy, and review of federal policies.
The outreach toolkit provides templates, guidance, and checklists based on DOJ pilot program feedback to help HUD offices and Justice Department's nationwide network of U.S. Attorney's Offices reach victims of sexual harassment.
Finally, the public awareness campaign will bring together stakeholders, develop a social media campaign, and create public service announcements run by DOJ's Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys.
More information about the DOJ Civil Rights Division and the civil rights laws it enforces is available at www.usdoj.gov/crt. Individuals who believe that they may have been victims of sexual harassment in housing should call HUD at 1-844-380-6178, send an e-mail to fairhousing@usdoj.gov, or contact HUD at 1-800-669-9777. If you have information or questions about any other housing discrimination, you can contact HUD at (800) 896-7743.