The reason sexual harassment complaints are taken at face value and assumed to be true has little to do with probabilities or truth and everything to do with risk. The potential liability of a mishandled complaint is greater than the possible damages (if any) associated with firing an employee in error. And if&#x2F;when there are future complaints, the existence of an earlier, mishandled complaint greatly increases the contingent liability of that future complaint.<p>Is a risk-based approach less idealistic than a noble pursuit for absolute truth? Sure, but we live in the real world. Companies have to protect themselves, and there is no perfect solution for preventing sexual harassment. Education is critical, but so is a firm response.