It is not easy to file a sexual harassment claim in Congress.

On her show Kasie DC on Sunday, MSNBC s Kasie Hunt broke down the complaint-filing process, which she described as very convoluted, and explained why many sexual harassment victims in Congress dont come forward.

By law , a victim has 180 days after an incident to bring a complaint of sexual harassment to the congressional Office of Compliance . As Hunt points out, this assumes that you are aware that [the office] exists.

Once the claim is processed, the victim has to go through up to 30 days of counseling and then has 15 days to decide whether to go to mediation. If you dont want to go to mediation, then youre out of options, Hunt said.

If the victim does choose to move forward with mediation, she added, they will be bound by a confidentiality agreement and will have to continue working with the harasser during this time.

You continue to go to work every day and, to be clear, during this time, theres typically no investigation or attempt change the workplace environment, Hunt said. So you might be seeing this person every day at work.

Once mediation begins, the harasser is assigned a lawyer paid for with taxpayer money. If the victim and harasser dont reach a settlement during this time, there is a mandatory 30-day cooling-off period before the victim can file a lawsuit. If they reach a settlement, its also paid for with taxpayer money and the victim usually has to sign a nondisclosure agreement.

This agreement prevents you from reporting the act to any ethics committees, prevents you from talking with your co-workers, your friends, your family or your spouse, Hunt noted.