sexual harassment personal essay

Essay on Sexual Harassment

500 words essay on sexual harassment.

Sexual harassment refers to any form of unwelcome sexual behaviour which is offensive, humiliating and intimidating. Further, it is against the law to sexually harass anyone. Over the years, sexual harassment has taken a lot of time to be recognized as a real issue. Nonetheless, it is a start that can protect people from this harassment. The essay on sexual harassment will take you through the details.

Sexual Harassment and Its Impacts

Sexual harassment comes in many forms and not just a single one. It includes when someone tries to touch, grab or make other physical contacts with you without your consent. Further, it also includes passing comments which have a sexual meaning.

After that, it is also when someone asks you for sexual favours. Leering and staring continuously also counts as one. You are being sexually harassed when the perpetrator displays rude and offensive material so that others can see it.

Another form is making sexual gestures towards you and cracking sexual jokes or comments towards you. It is also not acceptable for someone to question you about your sexual life or insult you with sexual comments.

Further, making an obscene phone call or indecently exposing oneself also counts as sexual harassment. Sexual harassment can impact a person severely. It may stress out the victim and they may suffer from anxiety or depression.

Moreover, it can also cause them to withdraw from social situations. After that, the victim also starts to lose confidence and self-esteem. There may also be physical symptoms like headaches, sleep problems and being not able to concentrate or be productive.

What Can We Do

No one in this world deserves to go through sexual harassment, whether man or woman. We all have the right to live freely without being harassed, bullied or discriminated against. It is the reason why sexual harassment is illegal.

To begin with, the person may try talking to the offender and convey their message regarding their unwanted behaviour. Further, it is also essential to stay informed about this issue. Make sure to learn about the policies and procedures regarding sexual harassment in your workplace, school or university.

Further, try to document everything to help you remember the name of the offenders and the incidents. Similarly, make sure to save any evidence you get which will help with your complaint. For instance, keeping the text messages, emails, photos or more.

Most importantly, always try to get external information and advice from people who will help you if you decide to file a lawsuit. Likewise, never deal with it on your own and share it with someone you trust to lighten your load.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Conclusion of the Essay on Sexual Harassment

To conclude, sexual harassment is a very real issue that went unnoticed for a long period of time, but not anymore. It is essential for all of us to take measures to prevent it from happening as it damages the life of the victim severely. Thus, make sure you help out those who are suffering from sexual harassment and make the perpetrator accountable.

FAQ of Essay on Sexual Harassment

Question 1: What are the effects of sexual harassment?

Answer 1: Sexual harassment has major effects on the victim like suffering from significant psychological effects which include anxiety, depression , headaches, sleep disorders, lowered self-esteem, sexual dysfunction and more.

Question 2: How do you tell if someone is sexually harassing you?

Answer 2: It is essential to notice the signs if you feel someone is sexually harassing you. The most important sign is if you feel uncomfortable and experience any unwanted physical contact. If your ‘no’ does not have an impact and you’re being subjected to sexual jokes, you are being sexually harassed.

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What it really takes to stop sexual harassment

Psychologists call for a comprehensive approach with real-world impact

By Brendan L. Smith

February 2018, Vol 49, No. 2

Print version: page 36

11 min read

Sexual Assault and Harassment

As the list of high-profile men accused of sexual harassment or assault grows, a cultural shift demanding increased accountability for workplace sexual harassment may be occurring in the public eye. But behind closed doors, many companies and institutions have done little to address sexual harassment, which has contributed to hostile work environments not only for victims of sexual harassment but also for other employees who are merely bystanders.

Sexual harassment is a pervasive problem with a devastating toll on employee well-being and performance, according to psychologists who study workplace harassment or provide consultation to companies on how to prevent it. There also is a dearth of research identifying which training programs may help reduce sexual harassment, while some ineffective training may even exacerbate the problem. Companies often still have a problematic knee-jerk reaction to sexual harassment complaints, says C. Brady Wilson, PhD, a psychologist in Scottsdale, Arizona, who specializes in sexual harassment and workplace trauma.

"There is a pattern to close ranks, admit nothing and blame the victim," Wilson says. "Some companies hate the EEOC and hate their own human resources department. They just see sexual harassment complaints as something that slows them down and as an unnecessary expense. There is such a reluctance to cooperate and participate."

In the 2015 fiscal year, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) received approximately 28,000 charges alleging harassment or discrimination from employees working for private employers or state or local governments. Almost half of those complaints were based on gender, exceeding race (34 percent) or disability (19 percent). The EEOC estimates that less than 14 percent of individuals experiencing harassment ever file a formal complaint.

Sixty percent of American women voters said they have experienced sexual harassment, according to a recent Quinnipiac University poll. Almost 70 percent of the women who experienced harassment said it occurred at work, more than any other setting. And the poll found almost 90 percent of both male and female voters believe sexual harassment of women is a serious problem.

The current media spotlight on sexual harassment may motivate more companies to adopt sexual harassment training programs, but some efforts aren't successful in changing attitudes or reducing sexual harassment. Conducting a one-time training for new employees is ineffective and is usually just window dressing by companies seeking protection from lawsuits, says Columbia University psychology professor Elissa Perry, PhD, who has researched sexual harassment training programs.

"It's not just about providing one training and you're done. It's got to be a comprehensive approach," she says. "The tone is set at the top. Are they just checking a box? If they are only doing it for legal reasons, then they don't care if it works."

Decades of research has documented the extensive damage suffered by victims of sexual harassment, including anxiety, depression, eating disorders, drug and alcohol abuse, job turnover and post-traumatic stress.

Quick has researched sexual harassment for more than two decades and co-authored a recent article in APA's Journal of Occupational Health Psychology that examined advances in research and the changing dynamics of sexual harassment. More men now are reporting sexual harassment, and more research is needed in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. In the Quinnipiac University national poll, one in five male voters reported that he had experienced sexual harassment. Women also can be aggressors against other women or men, although that is less common, Quick says.

The quest for effective training

While there has been little research evaluating the effectiveness of sexual harassment training programs, there are some best practices that have been identified. Employees should learn about company policies and laws relating to sexual harassment, procedures for filing complaints, and expectations of behavior for all employees, says Chris Kilmartin, PhD, a psychologist and emeritus psychology professor at the University of Mary Washington.

Bystander intervention training also may help increase a sense of accountability, where employees are expected to speak up and even file their own complaints when they witness sexual harassment involving another employee. A toxic work environment can lower productivity and increase turnover and absenteeism, with employees less engaged in their work.

"A hostile environment affects the whole organization, not just the people who are harassed," Kilmartin says. "Basically, it poisons the organization."

Kilmartin has served as a sexual harassment training consultant for many organizations and the armed forces, including the U.S. Army, Air Force and Naval Academy. Training can be engaging, with real-life scenarios, rather than forcing employees to watch a dated video with stilted vignettes. Kilmartin used his chops as a stand-up comedian to incorporate humor into a sexual harassment training video he wrote for the Army. In the video, a clueless soldier is dressed down by a sergeant for telling sexist jokes.

Companies should use sexual harassment training programs that include pre-training, training and post-training components at the individual and group levels, Perry says. An anonymous employee survey or audit of the workplace before the training can be useful in identifying the extent of sexual harassment. The training should be interactive, with multiple training methods, including lectures, videos and role-playing. Follow-up after the initial training should include knowledge assessment tests and annual refresher training courses.

A successful training program might result in an increase in sexual harassment complaints in the short term as more employees feel empowered to report misconduct, but an elevated level of complaints for an extended period may indicate the training hasn't helped, Perry says.

Some ineffective training programs may even backfire and increase negative views or stereotypes, according to research. A study of a 30-minute training found that men who completed the program were more likely to say that sexual behavior at work was wrong, but they also were more likely to believe that both parties contribute to inappropriate sexual behavior. They also were less likely to view coercion of a subordinate as sexual harassment than were men or women who didn't take the training.

The role of workplace culture

Some common risk factors for sexual harassment include workplaces with a strict hierarchical power dynamic where men outnumber women and most supervisors are male. Hiring more women in leadership positions and creating a civil, respectful culture for all employees can help curb the problem, Kilmartin says.

The Defense Department has instituted a comprehensive training strategy to reduce sexual assault and harassment, including an anonymous help line, surveys of armed forces members, focus groups and procedures for reducing retaliation against victims.

In both the military and civilian worlds, sexual harassment complaints are sometimes dismissed as a "he said, she said" situation, says Quick, who co-wrote a forthcoming book on campus sexual assault. Companies need to have clear policies that sexual harassment won't be tolerated and that perpetrators will be punished, but the process needs to be fair to all parties. "You can't use a sledgehammer. Some people do some things unintentionally," Quick says. "You have to look at intentions and actions. It's a deliberative process you have to go through."

A harsh zero-tolerance policy toward sexual harassment also can backfire, where alleged perpetrators don't feel the process is fair and victims fear making a complaint because they may not want the perpetrator to be fired, Quick says. "Everyone potentially has a defense, so you have to listen to both sides of the conflict," he says.

More research is needed to identify personality traits that may contribute to sexual harassment. One study published last year in Personality and Individual Differences found a positive association between sexual harassment proclivity and the "dark triad" personality traits (narcissism, psychopathy and Machiavellianism). While some people view sexist jokes as harmless, another study published in 2015 in the International Journal of Humor Research found that telling sexist jokes was associated with self-reported rape proclivity and blaming of victims.

The fate of harassment targets

One worrying trend is the increase in companies buying liability insurance to defend against sexual harassment lawsuits, because companies may treat sexual harassment as a cost of doing business rather than addressing it, Wilson says. "The fact is it's going to cost the company more to do the training and compliance than buying insurance. That's a hard reality," he says.

Wilson has trained EEOC staff about the differing ways that targets may respond to sexual harassment. Some women may try to avoid an aggressor or make weak pleadings for him to stop. They may downplay the misconduct and endure it for a long time before ultimately filing a complaint. Companies then may use those delays as ammunition against victims to question why they didn't file a complaint sooner or allege that the victims didn't really object to the inappropriate behavior, Wilson says. More than 70 percent of EEOC sexual harassment charges filed during the last two fiscal years included charges of retaliation, according to unpublished EEOC data obtained by the Center for American Progress.

Targets who face retaliation usually aren't fired outright, but their lives in the workplace are made so difficult that they eventually quit, says Wilson, a former president of the Arizona Psychological Association. He had one client whose desk was moved into a hallway outside her office and who had her computer and phone taken away after she filed a sexual harassment complaint.

That retaliation doesn't go unnoticed, and fellow workers often distance themselves from the target rather than helping. "Rarely do people stand up for them," Wilson says. "They don't want to get caught in that web or suffer retaliation themselves."

Bystander intervention training can help reverse that trend by training employees to be responsible for maintaining a safe office environment, even if it means getting involved in a situation they would rather avoid, Wilson says.

On another front, some large companies are compelling their suppliers to take action on sexual harassment, which can be a powerful tool because it affects those businesses' bottom line. McDonald's, Walmart, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Burger King and other companies have begun buying fruits and vegetables only from growers who abide by a human rights code of conduct to protect farmworkers called the Fair Food Program , which was developed by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers in Florida.

While high-profile men in politics, entertainment and the media are dominating the news coverage over allegations of sexual harassment, industries with large numbers of female low-wage workers have much higher rates of sexual harassment that go unnoticed with little public outcry. From 2005 to 2015, more than 41,000 charges of sexual harassment were filed with the EEOC, with the hotel and food industries recording the most charges (14 percent), followed closely by the retail industry (13 percent). The media and entertainment industries each accounted for less than 3 percent of sexual harassment complaints.

Shifts in cultural attitudes toward sexual harassment may ultimately be the most valuable tool in combating sexual harassment by creating a shared sense of public responsibility and accountability. The #MeToo social media messages that went viral after the Harvey Weinstein sex scandal illustrated in stark detail how many women have experienced sexual harassment. Kilmartin says he had male friends on Facebook who acknowledged they had previously engaged in sexual harassment, but they promised to stop after reading the heartrending accounts that women shared publicly, often for the first time.

"It was powerful and personalized the issue that it's not just something that happens in an evil Hollywood back room," Kilmartin says. "It helps sensitize men to the stories of people they know so it wasn't just an abstraction."

Greater public awareness of sexual harassment and more proactive involvement by companies and other institutions hopefully will reduce the prevalence of sexual harassment and the devastation it causes, Quick says.

"It's not just a woman's problem. Women continue to be the primary victims of sexual harassment, and they are carrying the burden of suffering," he says. "Until males own their responsibility in the problem, it's going to be really tough to get a big movement in addressing it."

This article originally appeared in Good Company , a newsletter from APA's Center for Organizational Excellence, which works to enhance the functioning of individuals, groups, organizations and communities through the application of psychology to a broad range of workplace issues..

Have we made any progress?

James Campbell Quick, PhD, and M. Ann McFadyen, PhD, seek to answer that question in the July issue of APA's Journal of Occupational Health Psychology (Vol. 22, No. 3, 2017). Their article reviews the literature on sexual harassment and finds that while sexual harassment complaints have decreased by 28 percent since 1998, complaints by males have increased, and merit resolutions and monetary benefits have increased. The authors also point out that one persistent problem related to sexual harassment is a lack of agreement on its definition. dx.doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000054

APA's Center for Organizational Excellence Resources on preventing and addressing workplace sexual harassment, including statistics, reports, trainings, book recommendations and more, can be found at apaexcellence.org/sexual-harassment .

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Sexual Harassment

You should be able to feel comfortable in your place of work or learning. If you are being sexually harassed, you can report it to the authorities at your job or school.

What is sexual harassment?

Sexual harassment includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature in the workplace or learning environment, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ( EEOC ). Sexual harassment does not always have to be specifically about sexual behavior or directed at a specific person. For example, negative comments about women as a group may be a form of sexual harassment.

Although sexual harassment laws do not usually cover teasing or offhand comments, these behaviors can also be upsetting and have a negative emotional effect.

What does sexual harassment look like?

Sexual harassment can occur in a variety of circumstances. The harasser can identify with any gender and have any relationship to the victim, including being a direct manager, indirect supervisor, coworker, teacher, peer, or colleague.

Some forms of sexual harassment include:

Making conditions of employment or advancement dependent on sexual favors, either explicitly or implicitly.
Physical acts of sexual assault.
Requests for sexual favors.
Verbal harassment of a sexual nature, including jokes referring to sexual acts or sexual orientation.
Unwanted touching or physical contact.
Unwelcome sexual advances.
Discussing sexual relations/stories/fantasies at work, school, or in other inappropriate places.
Feeling pressured to engage with someone sexually.
Exposing oneself or performing sexual acts on oneself.
Unwanted sexually explicit photos, emails, or text messages.

What is the difference between sexual harassment and sexual assault? What about sexual misconduct?

Sexual harassment is a broad term, including many types of unwelcome verbal and physical sexual attention. Sexual assault refers to sexual contact or behavior, often physical, that occurs without the consent of the victim. Sexual harassment generally violates civil laws—you have a right to work or learn without being harassed—but in many cases is not a criminal act, while sexual assault usually refers to acts that are criminal. Some forms of sexual assault include:

Penetration of the victim’s body, also known as rape.
Attempted rape.
Forcing a victim to perform sexual acts, such as oral sex or penetration of the perpetrator’s body.
Fondling or unwanted sexual touching.

Sexual misconduct is a non-legal term used informally to describe a broad range of behaviors, which may or may not involve harassment. For example, some companies prohibit sexual relationships between coworkers, or between an employee and their boss, even if the relationship is consensual.

Where can sexual harassment occur?

Sexual harassment can occur in the workplace or learning environment, like a school or university. It can happen in many different scenarios, including after-hours conversations, exchanges in the hallways, and non-office settings of employees or peers.

What can I do when I witness sexual harassment?

You may have heard the term bystander intervention to describe stepping in to help if you see someone who might be in danger or at risk for sexual assault. Bystander intervention can also be a helpful strategy if you witness sexual harassment. You don’t have to be a hero to make a positive impact in someone’s life, and you can intervene in a way that fits your comfort level and is appropriate for the situation. If you choose to step in, you may be able to give the person being harassed a chance to get to a safe place or leave the situation. Below are some of the steps you can take if you see someone being sexually harassed—just remember to C.A.R.E., and of course, keep your own safety in mind at all times.

Create a distraction. Do what you can to interrupt the harassment, or distract those taking part in the harassment. But remember to make sure that you aren’t putting yourself in danger by doing this. If someone seems like they could become violent, do not draw their attention.
Ask directly. Talk directly with the person who is being harassed. If they are being harassed at work or school, offer to accompany them anytime they have to meet with the harasser. If a friend is worried about walking alone to their car at night, offer to walk with them.
Refer to an authority. The safest way to intervene for both you and the person being harassed may be to bring in an authority figure. You can talk to another employee, security guard, RA in your dorm, bartender, or bouncer, and they will often be willing to step in.
Enlist others. It can be hard to step in alone, especially if you are worried about your own safety or if you don’t think you will be able to help on your own. It may be a good idea to enlist the help of a friend or another bystander.

What are some effects of sexual harassment?

Experiencing sexual harassment may cause some survivors to face emotional, physical, or mental health concerns. Some of them might include:

For more resources and information from RAINN about sexual harassment, visit That's Harassment .

Emotional effects:

Humiliation
Powerlessness and loss of control

Mental health effects:

Panic attacks
Difficulty concentrating
Loss of motivation
Substance abuse
Suicidal ideation

Physical effects:

Increased stress levels
Sleep disturbances
Eating disturbances

Where can I learn more about sexual harassment?

Visit the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to learn more about sexual harassment laws and your rights in the workplace.
If you are a minor, you can learn more at Youth at Work , EEOC’s website for youth in the workforce.

To speak with someone who is trained to help, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673) or chat online at online.rainn.org .

Sexual Assault

Sexual assault can take many different forms and be defined in different ways, but one thing remains the same: it’s never the victim’s fault.

Learn more about stalking behaviors to help you notice them before they escalate—and take steps to protect yourself.

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Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2018)

Chapter: 7 findings, conclusions, and recommendations, 7 findings, conclusions, and recommendations.

Preventing and effectively addressing sexual harassment of women in colleges and universities is a significant challenge, but we are optimistic that academic institutions can meet that challenge—if they demonstrate the will to do so. This is because the research shows what will work to prevent sexual harassment and why it will work. A systemwide change to the culture and climate in our nation’s colleges and universities can stop the pattern of harassing behavior from impacting the next generation of women entering science, engineering, and medicine.

Changing the current culture and climate requires addressing all forms of sexual harassment, not just the most egregious cases; moving beyond legal compliance; supporting targets when they come forward; improving transparency and accountability; diffusing the power structure between faculty and trainees; and revising organizational systems and structures to value diversity, inclusion, and respect. Leaders at every level within academia will be needed to initiate these changes and to establish and maintain the culture and norms. However, to succeed in making these changes, all members of our nation’s college campuses—students, faculty, staff, and administrators—will need to assume responsibility for promoting a civil and respectful environment. It is everyone’s responsibility to stop sexual harassment.

In this spirit of optimism, we offer the following compilation of the report’s findings, conclusions, and recommendations.

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS

Chapter 2: sexual harassment research.

Sexual harassment is a form of discrimination that consists of three types of harassing behavior: (1) gender harassment (verbal and nonverbal behaviors that convey hostility, objectification, exclusion, or second-class status about members of one gender); (2) unwanted sexual attention (unwelcome verbal or physical sexual advances, which can include assault); and (3) sexual coercion (when favorable professional or educational treatment is conditioned on sexual activity). The distinctions between the types of harassment are important, particularly because many people do not realize that gender harassment is a form of sexual harassment.
Sexually harassing behavior can be either direct (targeted at an individual) or ambient (a general level of sexual harassment in an environment) and is harmful in both cases. It is considered illegal when it creates a hostile environment (gender harassment or unwanted sexual attention that is “severe or pervasive” enough to alter the conditions of employment, interfere with one’s work performance, or impede one’s ability to get an education) or when it is quid pro quo sexual harassment (when favorable professional or educational treatment is conditioned on sexual activity).
There are reliable scientific methods for determining the prevalence of sexual harassment. To measure the incidence of sexual harassment, surveys should follow the best practices that have emerged from the science of sexual harassment. This includes use of the Sexual Experiences Questionnaire, the most widely used and well-validated instrument available for measuring sexual harassment; assessment of specific behaviors without requiring the respondent to label the behaviors “sexual harassment”; focus on first-hand experience or observation of behavior (rather than rumor or hearsay); and focus on the recent past (1–2 years, to avoid problems of memory decay). Relying on the number of official reports of sexual harassment made to an organization is not an accurate method for determining the prevalence.
Some surveys underreport the incidence of sexual harassment because they have not followed standard and valid practices for survey research and sexual harassment research.
While properly conducted surveys are the best methods for estimating the prevalence of sexual harassment, other salient aspects of sexual harassment and its consequences can be examined using other research methods , such as behavioral laboratory experiments, interviews, case studies, ethnographies, and legal research. Such studies can provide information about the presence and nature of sexually harassing behavior in an organization, how it develops and continues (and influences the organizational climate), and how it attenuates or amplifies outcomes from sexual harassment.
Women experience sexual harassment more often than men do.
Gender harassment (e.g., behaviors that communicate that women do not belong or do not merit respect) is by far the most common type of sexual harassment. When an environment is pervaded by gender harassment, unwanted sexual attention and sexual coercion become more likely to occur—in part because unwanted sexual attention and sexual coercion are almost never experienced by women without simultaneously experiencing gender harassment.
Men are more likely than women to commit sexual harassment.
Coworkers and peers more often commit sexual harassment than do superiors.
Sexually harassing behaviors are not typically isolated incidents; rather, they are a series or pattern of sometimes escalating incidents and behaviors.
Women of color experience more harassment (sexual, racial/ethnic, or combination of the two) than white women, white men, and men of color do. Women of color often experience sexual harassment that includes racial harassment.
Sexual- and gender-minority people experience more sexual harassment than heterosexual women do.
The two characteristics of environments most associated with higher rates of sexual harassment are (a) male-dominated gender ratios and leadership and (b) an organizational climate that communicates tolerance of sexual harassment (e.g., leadership that fails to take complaints seriously, fails to sanction perpetrators, or fails to protect complainants from retaliation).
Organizational climate is, by far, the greatest predictor of the occurrence of sexual harassment, and ameliorating it can prevent people from sexually harassing others. A person more likely to engage in harassing behaviors is significantly less likely to do so in an environment that does not support harassing behaviors and/or has strong, clear, transparent consequences for these behaviors.

Chapter 3: Sexual Harassment in Academic Science, Engineering, and Medicine

Male-dominated environment , with men in positions of power and authority.
Organizational tolerance for sexually harassing behavior (e.g., failing to take complaints seriously, failing to sanction perpetrators, or failing to protect complainants from retaliation).
Hierarchical and dependent relationships between faculty and their trainees (e.g., students, postdoctoral fellows, residents).
Isolating environments (e.g., labs, field sites, and hospitals) in which faculty and trainees spend considerable time.
Greater than 50 percent of women faculty and staff and 20–50 percent of women students encounter or experience sexually harassing conduct in academia.
Women students in academic medicine experience more frequent gender harassment perpetrated by faculty/staff than women students in science and engineering.
Women students/trainees encounter or experience sexual harassment perpetrated by faculty/staff and also by other students/trainees.
Women faculty encounter or experience sexual harassment perpetrated by other faculty/staff and also by students/trainees.
Women students, trainees, and faculty in academic medical centers experience sexual harassment by patients and patients’ families in addition to the harassment they experience from colleagues and those in leadership positions.

Chapter 4: Outcomes of Sexual Harassment

When women experience sexual harassment in the workplace, the professional outcomes include declines in job satisfaction; withdrawal from their organization (i.e., distancing themselves from the work either physically or mentally without actually quitting, having thoughts or

intentions of leaving their job, and actually leaving their job); declines in organizational commitment (i.e., feeling disillusioned or angry with the organization); increases in job stress; and declines in productivity or performance.

When students experience sexual harassment, the educational outcomes include declines in motivation to attend class, greater truancy, dropping classes, paying less attention in class, receiving lower grades, changing advisors, changing majors, and transferring to another educational institution, or dropping out.
Gender harassment has adverse effects. Gender harassment that is severe or occurs frequently over a period of time can result in the same level of negative professional and psychological outcomes as isolated instances of sexual coercion. Gender harassment, often considered a “lesser,” more inconsequential form of sexual harassment, cannot be dismissed when present in an organization.
The greater the frequency, intensity, and duration of sexually harassing behaviors, the more women report symptoms of depression, stress, and anxiety, and generally negative effects on psychological well-being.
The more women are sexually harassed in an environment, the more they think about leaving, and end up leaving as a result of the sexual harassment.
The more power a perpetrator has over the target, the greater the impacts and negative consequences experienced by the target.
For women of color, preliminary research shows that when the sexual harassment occurs simultaneously with other types of harassment (i.e., racial harassment), the experiences can have more severe consequences for them.
Sexual harassment has adverse effects that affect not only the targets of harassment but also bystanders, coworkers, workgroups, and entire organizations.
Women cope with sexual harassment in a variety of ways, most often by ignoring or appeasing the harasser and seeking social support.
The least common response for women is to formally report the sexually harassing experience. For many, this is due to an accurate perception that they may experience retaliation or other negative outcomes associated with their personal and professional lives.
The dependence on advisors and mentors for career advancement.
The system of meritocracy that does not account for the declines in productivity and morale as a result of sexual harassment.
The “macho” culture in some fields.
The informal communication network , in which rumors and accusations are spread within and across specialized programs and fields.
The cumulative effect of sexual harassment is significant damage to research integrity and a costly loss of talent in academic science, engineering, and medicine. Women faculty in science, engineering, and medicine who experience sexual harassment report three common professional outcomes: stepping down from leadership opportunities to avoid the perpetrator, leaving their institution, and leaving their field altogether.

Chapter 5: Existing Legal and Policy Mechanisms for Addressing Sexual Harassment

An overly legalistic approach to the problem of sexual harassment is likely to misjudge the true nature and scope of the problem. Sexual harassment law and policy development has focused narrowly on the sexualized and coercive forms of sexual harassment, not on the gender harassment type that research has identified as much more prevalent and at times equally harmful.
Much of the sexual harassment that women experience and that damages women and their careers in science, engineering, and medicine does not meet the legal criteria of illegal discrimination under current law.
Private entities, such as companies and private universities, are legally allowed to keep their internal policies and procedures—and their research on those policies and procedures—confidential, thereby limiting the research that can be done on effective policies for preventing and handling sexual harassment.
Various legal policies, and the interpretation of such policies, enable academic institutions to maintain secrecy and/or confidentiality regarding outcomes of sexual harassment investigations, arbitration, and settlement agreements. Colleagues may also hesitate to warn one another about sexual harassment concerns in the hiring or promotion context out of fear of legal repercussions (i.e., being sued for defamation and/or discrimination). This lack of transparency in the adjudication process within organizations can cover up sexual harassment perpetrated by repeat or serial harassers. This creates additional barriers to researchers

and others studying harassment claims and outcomes, and is also a barrier to determining the effectiveness of policies and procedures.

Title IX, Title VII, and case law reflect the inaccurate assumption that a target of sexual harassment will promptly report the harassment without worrying about retaliation. Effectively addressing sexual harassment through the law, institutional policies or procedures, or cultural change requires taking into account that targets of sexual harassment are unlikely to report harassment and often face retaliation for reporting (despite this being illegal).
Fears of legal liability may prevent institutions from being willing to effectively evaluate training for its measurable impact on reducing harassment. Educating employees via sexual harassment training is commonly implemented as a central component of demonstrating to courts that institutions have “exercised reasonable care to prevent and correct promptly any sexually harassing behavior.” However, research has not demonstrated that such training prevents sexual harassment. Thus, if institutions evaluated their training programs, they would likely find them to be ineffective, which, in turn, could raise fears within institutions of their risk for liability because they would then knowingly not be exercising reasonable care.
Holding individuals and institutions responsible for sexual harassment and demonstrating that sexual harassment is a serious issue requires U.S. federal funding agencies to be aware when principal investigators, co-principal investigators, and grant personnel have violated sexual harassment policies. It is unclear whether and how federal agencies will take action beyond the requirements of Title IX and Title VII to ensure that federal grants, composed of taxpayers’ dollars, are not supporting research, academic institutions, or programs in which sexual harassment is ongoing and not being addressed. Federal science agencies usually indicate (e.g., in requests for proposals or other announcements) that they have a “no-tolerance” policy for sexual harassment. In general, federal agencies rely on the grantee institutions to investigate and follow through on Title IX violations. By not assessing and addressing the role of institutions and professional organizations in enabling individual sexual harassers, federal agencies may be perpetuating the problem of sexual harassment.
To address the effect sexual harassment has on the integrity of research, parts of the federal government and several professional societies are beginning to focus more broadly on policies about research integrity and on codes of ethics rather than on the narrow definition of research misconduct. A powerful incentive for change may be missed if sexual harassment is not considered equally important as research misconduct, in terms of its effect on the integrity of research.

Chapter 6: Changing the Culture and Climate in Higher Education

A systemwide change to the culture and climate in higher education is required to prevent and effectively address all three forms of sexual harassment. Despite significant attention in recent years, there is no evidence to suggest that current policies, procedures, and approaches have resulted in a significant reduction in sexual harassment. It is time to consider approaches that address the systems, cultures, and climates that enable sexual harassment to perpetuate.
Strong and effective leaders at all levels in the organization are required to make the systemwide changes to climate and culture in higher education. The leadership of the organization—at every level—plays a significant role in establishing and maintaining an organization’s culture and norms. However, leaders in academic institutions rarely have leadership training to thoughtfully address culture and climate issues, and the leadership training that exists is often of poor quality.
Evidence-based, effective intervention strategies are available for enhancing gender diversity in hiring practices.
Focusing evaluation and reward structures on cooperation and collegiality rather than solely on individual-level teaching and research performance metrics could have a significant impact on improving the environment in academia.
Evidence-based, effective intervention strategies are available for raising levels of interpersonal civility and respect in workgroups and teams.
An organization that is committed to improving organizational climate must address issues of bias in academia. Training to reduce personal bias can cause larger-scale changes in departmental behaviors in an academic setting.
Skills-based training that centers on bystander intervention promotes a culture of support, not one of silence. By calling out negative behaviors on the spot, all members of an academic community are helping to create a culture where abusive behavior is seen as an aberration, not as the norm.
Reducing hierarchical power structures and diffusing power more broadly among faculty and trainees can reduce the risk of sexual ha

rassment. Departments and institutions could take the following approaches for diffusing power:

Make use of egalitarian leadership styles that recognize that people at all levels of experience and expertise have important insights to offer.
Adopt mentoring networks or committee-based advising that allows for a diversity of potential pathways for advice, funding, support, and informal reporting of harassment.
Develop ways the research funding can be provided to the trainee rather than just the principal investigator.
Take on the responsibility for preserving the potential work of the research team and trainees by redistributing the funding if a principal investigator cannot continue the work because he/she has created a climate that fosters sexual harassment and guaranteeing funding to trainees if the institution or a funder pulls funding from the principal investigator because of sexual harassment.
Orienting students, trainees, faculty, and staff, at all levels, to the academic institution’s culture and its policies and procedures for handling sexual harassment can be an important piece of establishing a climate that demonstrates sexual harassment is not tolerated and targets will be supported.
Institutions could build systems of response that empower targets by providing alternative and less formal means of accessing support services, recording information, and reporting incidents without fear of retaliation.
Supporting student targets also includes helping them to manage their education and training over the long term.
Confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements isolate sexual harassment targets by limiting their ability to speak with others about their experiences and can serve to shield perpetrators who have harassed people repeatedly.
Key components of clear anti-harassment policies are that they are quickly and easily digested (i.e., using one-page flyers or infographics and not in legally dense language) and that they clearly state that people will be held accountable for violating the policy.
A range of progressive/escalating disciplinary consequences (such as counseling, changes in work responsibilities, reductions in pay/benefits, and suspension or dismissal) that corresponds to the severity and frequency of the misconduct has the potential of correcting behavior before it escalates and without significantly disrupting an academic program.
In an effort to change behavior and improve the climate, it may also be appropriate for institutions to undertake some rehabilitation-focused measures, even though these may not be sanctions per se.
For the people in an institution to understand that the institution does not tolerate sexual harassment, it must show that it does investigate and then hold perpetrators accountable in a reasonable timeframe. Institutions can anonymize the basic information and provide regular reports that convey how many reports are being investigated and what the outcomes are from the investigation.
An approach for improving transparency and demonstrating that the institution takes sexual harassment seriously is to encourage internal review of its policies, procedures, and interventions for addressing sexual harassment, and to have interactive dialogues with members of their campus community (especially expert researchers on these topics) around ways to improve the culture and climate and change behavior.
Cater training to specific populations; in academia this would include students, postdoctoral fellows, staff, faculty, and those in leadership.
Attend to the institutional motivation for training , which can impact the effectiveness of the training; for instance, compliance-based approaches have limited positive impact.
Conduct training using live qualified trainers and offer trainees specific examples of inappropriate conduct. We note that a great deal of sexual harassment training today is offered via an online mini-course or the viewing of a short video.
Describe standards of behavior clearly and accessibly (e.g., avoiding legal and technical terms).
To the extent that the training literature provides broad guidelines for creating impactful training that can change climate and behavior, they include the following:
Establish standards of behavior rather than solely seek to influence attitudes and beliefs. Clear communication of behavioral expectations, and teaching of behavioral skills, is essential.
Conduct training in adherence to best standards , including appropriate pre-training needs assessment and evaluation of its effectiveness.
Creating a climate that prevents sexual harassment requires measuring the climate in relation to sexual harassment, diversity, and respect, and assessing progress in reducing sexual harassment.
Efforts to incentivize systemwide changes, such as Athena SWAN, 1 are crucial to motivating organizations and departments within organizations to make the necessary changes.
Enacting new codes of conduct and new rules related specifically to conference attendance.
Including sexual harassment in codes of ethics and investigating reports of sexual harassment. (This is a new responsibility for professional societies, and these organizations are considering how to take into consideration the law, home institutions, due process, and careful reporting when dealing with reports of sexual harassment.)
Requiring members to acknowledge, in writing, the professional society’s rules and codes of conduct relating to sexual harassment during conference registration and during membership sign-up and renewal.
Supporting and designing programs that prevent harassment and provide skills to intervene when someone is being harassed.
Strengthening statements on sexual harassment, bullying, and discrimination in professional societies’ codes of conduct, with a few defining it as research misconduct.
Factoring in harassment-related professional misconduct into scientific award decisions.
Professional societies have the potential to be powerful drivers of change through their capacity to help educate, train, codify, and reinforce cultural expectations for their respective scientific, engineering, and medical communities. Some professional societies have taken action to prevent and respond to sexual harassment among their membership. Although each professional society has taken a slightly different approach to addressing sexual harassment, there are some shared approaches, including the following:

___________________

1 Athena SWAN (Scientific Women’s Academic Network). See https://www.ecu.ac.uk/equalitycharters/athena-swan/ .

There are many promising approaches to changing the culture and climate in academia; however, further research assessing the effects and values of the following approaches is needed to identify best practices:
Policies, procedures, trainings, and interventions, specifically how they prevent and stop sexually harassing behavior, alter perception of organizational tolerance for sexually harassing behavior, and reduce the negative consequences from reporting the incidents. This includes informal and formal reporting mechanisms, bystander intervention training, academic leadership training, sexual harassment training, interventions to improve civility, mandatory reporting requirements, and approaches to supporting and improving communication with the target.
Mechanisms for target-led resolution options and mechanisms by which the target has a role in deciding what happens to the perpetrator, including restorative justice practices.
Mechanisms for protecting targets from retaliation.
Rehabilitation-focused measures for disciplining perpetrators.
Incentive systems for encouraging leaders in higher education to address the issues of sexual harassment on campus.

RECOMMENDATIONS

RECOMMENDATION 1: Create diverse, inclusive, and respectful environments.

Academic institutions and their leaders should take explicit steps to achieve greater gender and racial equity in hiring and promotions, and thus improve the representation of women at every level.
Academic institutions and their leaders should take steps to foster greater cooperation, respectful work behavior, and professionalism at the faculty, staff, and student/trainee levels, and should evaluate faculty and staff on these criteria in hiring and promotion.
Academic institutions should combine anti-harassment efforts with civility-promotion programs.
Academic institutions should cater their training to specific populations (in academia these should include students/trainees, staff, faculty, and those in leadership) and should follow best practices in designing training programs. Training should be viewed as the means of providing the skills needed by all members of the academic community, each of whom has a role to play in building a positive organizational climate focused on safety and respect, and not simply as a method of ensuring compliance with laws.
Academic institutions should utilize training approaches that develop skills among participants to interrupt and intervene when inappropriate behavior occurs. These training programs should be evaluated to deter

mine whether they are effective and what aspects of the training are most important to changing culture.

Anti–sexual harassment training programs should focus on changing behavior, not on changing beliefs. Programs should focus on clearly communicating behavioral expectations, specifying consequences for failing to meet these expectations, and identifying the mechanisms to be utilized when these expectations are not met. Training programs should not be based on the avoidance of legal liability.

RECOMMENDATION 2: Address the most common form of sexual harassment: gender harassment.

Leaders in academic institutions and research and training sites should pay increased attention to and enact policies that cover gender harassment as a means of addressing the most common form of sexual harassment and of preventing other types of sexually harassing behavior.

RECOMMENDATION 3: Move beyond legal compliance to address culture and climate.

Academic institutions, research and training sites, and federal agencies should move beyond interventions or policies that represent basic legal compliance and that rely solely on formal reports made by targets. Sexual harassment needs to be addressed as a significant culture and climate issue that requires institutional leaders to engage with and listen to students and other campus community members.

RECOMMENDATION 4: Improve transparency and accountability.

Academic institutions need to develop—and readily share—clear, accessible, and consistent policies on sexual harassment and standards of behavior. They should include a range of clearly stated, appropriate, and escalating disciplinary consequences for perpetrators found to have violated sexual harassment policy and/or law. The disciplinary actions taken should correspond to the severity and frequency of the harassment. The disciplinary actions should not be something that is often considered a benefit for faculty, such as a reduction in teaching load or time away from campus service responsibilities. Decisions regarding disciplinary actions, if indicated or required, should be made in a fair and timely way following an investigative process that is fair to all sides. 2
Academic institutions should be as transparent as possible about how they are handling reports of sexual harassment. This requires balancing issues of confidentiality with issues of transparency. Annual reports,

2 Further detail on processes and guidance for how to fairly and appropriately investigate and adjudicate these issues are not provided because they are complex issues that were beyond the scope of this study.

that provide information on (1) how many and what type of policy violations have been reported (both informally and formally), (2) how many reports are currently under investigation, and (3) how many have been adjudicated, along with general descriptions of any disciplinary actions taken, should be shared with the entire academic community: students, trainees, faculty, administrators, staff, alumni, and funders. At the very least, the results of the investigation and any disciplinary action should be shared with the target(s) and/or the person(s) who reported the behavior.

Academic institutions should be accountable for the climate within their organization. In particular, they should utilize climate surveys to further investigate and address systemic sexual harassment, particularly when surveys indicate specific schools or facilities have high rates of harassment or chronically fail to reduce rates of sexual harassment.
Academic institutions should consider sexual harassment equally important as research misconduct in terms of its effect on the integrity of research. They should increase collaboration among offices that oversee the integrity of research (i.e., those that cover ethics, research misconduct, diversity, and harassment issues); centralize resources, information, and expertise; provide more resources for handling complaints and working with targets; and implement sanctions on researchers found guilty of sexual harassment.

RECOMMENDATION 5: Diffuse the hierarchical and dependent relationship between trainees and faculty.

Academic institutions should consider power-diffusion mechanisms (i.e., mentoring networks or committee-based advising and departmental funding rather than funding only from a principal investigator) to reduce the risk of sexual harassment.

RECOMMENDATION 6: Provide support for the target.

Academic institutions should convey that reporting sexual harassment is an honorable and courageous action. Regardless of a target filing a formal report, academic institutions should provide means of accessing support services (social services, health care, legal, career/professional). They should provide alternative and less formal means of recording information about the experience and reporting the experience if the target is not comfortable filing a formal report. Academic institutions should develop approaches to prevent the target from experiencing or fearing retaliation in academic settings.

RECOMMENDATION 7: Strive for strong and diverse leadership.

College and university presidents, provosts, deans, department chairs, and program directors must make the reduction and prevention of sexual

harassment an explicit goal of their tenure. They should publicly state that the reduction and prevention of sexual harassment will be among their highest priorities, and they should engage students, faculty, and staff (and, where appropriate, the local community) in their efforts.

Academic institutions should support and facilitate leaders at every level (university, school/college, department, lab) in developing skills in leadership, conflict resolution, mediation, negotiation, and de-escalation, and should ensure a clear understanding of policies and procedures for handling sexual harassment issues. Additionally, these skills development programs should be customized to each level of leadership.
Leadership training programs for those in academia should include training on how to recognize and handle sexual harassment issues, and how to take explicit steps to create a culture and climate to reduce and prevent sexual harassment—and not just protect the institution against liability.

RECOMMENDATION 8: Measure progress.

Academic institutions should work with researchers to evaluate and assess their efforts to create a more diverse, inclusive, and respectful environment, and to create effective policies, procedures, and training programs. They should not rely on formal reports by targets for an understanding of sexual harassment on their campus.

When organizations study sexual harassment, they should follow the valid methodologies established by social science research on sexual harassment and should consult subject-matter experts. Surveys that attempt to ascertain the prevalence and types of harassment experienced by individuals should adopt the following practices: ensure confidentiality, use validated behavioral instruments such as the Sexual Experiences Questionnaire, and avoid specifically using the term “sexual harassment” in any survey or questionnaire.
Academic institutions should also conduct more wide-ranging assessments using measures in addition to campus climate surveys, for example, ethnography, focus groups, and exit interviews. These methods are especially important in smaller organizational units where surveys, which require more participants to yield meaningful data, might not be useful.
Organizations studying sexual harassment in their environments should take into consideration the particular experiences of people of color and sexual- and gender-minority people, and they should utilize methods that allow them to disaggregate their data by race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity to reveal the different experiences across populations.
The results of climate surveys should be shared publicly to encourage transparency and accountability and to demonstrate to the campus community that the institution takes the issue seriously. One option would be for academic institutions to collaborate in developing a central repository for reporting their climate data, which could also improve the ability for research to be conducted on the effectiveness of institutional approaches.
Federal agencies and foundations should commit resources to develop a tool similar to ARC3, the Administrator-Researcher Campus Climate Collaborative, to understand and track the climate for faculty, staff, and postdoctoral fellows.

RECOMMENDATION 9: Incentivize change.

Academic institutions should work to apply for awards from the emerging STEM Equity Achievement (SEA Change) program. 3 Federal agencies and private foundations should encourage and support academic institutions working to achieve SEA Change awards.
Accreditation bodies should consider efforts to create diverse, inclusive, and respectful environments when evaluating institutions or departments.
Federal agencies should incentivize efforts to reduce sexual harassment in academia by requiring evaluations of the research environment, funding research and evaluation of training for students and faculty (including bystander intervention), supporting the development and evaluation of leadership training for faculty, and funding research on effective policies and procedures.

RECOMMENDATION 10: Encourage involvement of professional societies and other organizations.

Professional societies should accelerate their efforts to be viewed as organizations that are helping to create culture changes that reduce or prevent the occurrence of sexual harassment. They should provide support and guidance for members who have been targets of sexual harassment. They should use their influence to address sexual harassment in the scientific, medical, and engineering communities they represent and promote a professional culture of civility and respect. The efforts of the American Geophysical Union are especially exemplary and should be considered as a model for other professional societies to follow.
Other organizations that facilitate the research and training of people in science, engineering, and medicine, such as collaborative field sites (i.e., national labs and observatories), should establish standards of behavior

3 See https://www.aaas.org/news/sea-change-program-aims-transform-diversity-efforts-stem .

and set policies, procedures, and practices similar to those recommended for academic institutions and following the examples of professional societies. They should hold people accountable for their behaviors while at their facility regardless of the person’s institutional affiliation (just as some professional societies are doing).

RECOMMENDATION 11: Initiate legislative action.

State legislatures and Congress should consider new and additional legislation with the following goals:

Better protecting sexual harassment claimants from retaliation.
Prohibiting confidentiality in settlement agreements that currently enable harassers to move to another institution and conceal past adjudications.
Banning mandatory arbitration clauses for discrimination claims.
Allowing lawsuits to be filed against alleged harassers directly (instead of or in addition to their academic employers).
Requiring institutions receiving federal funds to publicly disclose results from campus climate surveys and/or the number of sexual harassment reports made to campuses.
Requesting the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health devote research funds to doing a follow-up analysis on the topic of sexual harassment in science, engineering, and medicine in 3 to 5 years to determine (1) whether research has shown that the prevalence of sexual harassment has decreased, (2) whether progress has been made on implementing these recommendations, and (3) where to focus future efforts.

RECOMMENDATION 12: Address the failures to meaningfully enforce Title VII’s prohibition on sex discrimination.

Judges, academic institutions (including faculty, staff, and leaders in academia), and administrative agencies should rely on scientific evidence about the behavior of targets and perpetrators of sexual harassment when assessing both institutional compliance with the law and the merits of individual claims.
Federal judges should take into account demonstrated effectiveness of anti-harassment policies and practices such as trainings, and not just their existence , for use of an affirmative defense against a sexual harassment claim under Title VII.

RECOMMENDATION 13: Increase federal agency action and collaboration.

Federal agencies should do the following:

Increase support for research and evaluation of the effectiveness of policies, procedures, and training on sexual harassment.
Attend to sexual harassment with at least the same level of attention and resources as devoted to research misconduct. They should increase collaboration among offices that oversee the integrity of research (i.e., those that cover ethics, research misconduct, diversity, and harassment issues); centralize resources, information, and expertise; provide more resources for handling complaints and working with targets; and implement sanctions on researchers found guilty of sexual harassment.
Require institutions to report to federal agencies when individuals on grants have been found to have violated sexual harassment policies or have been put on administrative leave related to sexual harassment, as the National Science Foundation has proposed doing. Agencies should also hold accountable the perpetrator and the institution by using a range of disciplinary actions that limit the negative effects on other grant personnel who were either the target of the harassing behavior or innocent bystanders.
Reward and incentivize colleges and universities for implementing policies, programs, and strategies that research shows are most likely to and are succeeding in reducing and preventing sexual harassment.

RECOMMENDATION 14: Conduct necessary research.

Funders should support the following research:

The sexual harassment experiences of women in underrepresented and/or vulnerable groups, including women of color, disabled women, immigrant women, sexual- and gender-minority women, postdoctoral trainees, and others.
Policies, procedures, trainings, and interventions, specifically their ability to prevent and stop sexually harassing behavior, to alter perception of organizational tolerance for sexually harassing behavior, and to reduce the negative consequences from reporting the incidents. This should include research on informal and formal reporting mechanisms, bystander intervention training, academic leadership training, sexual harassment and diversity training, interventions to improve civility, mandatory reporting requirements, and approaches to supporting and improving communication with the target.
Approaches for mitigating the negative impacts and outcomes that targets experience.
The prevalence and nature of sexual harassment within specific fields in

science, engineering, and medicine and that follows good practices for sexual harassment surveys.

The prevalence and nature of sexual harassment perpetrated by students on faculty.
The amount of sexual harassment that serial harassers are responsible for.
The prevalence and effect of ambient harassment in the academic setting.
The connections between consensual relationships and sexual harassment.
Psychological characteristics that increase the risk of perpetrating different forms of sexually harassing behaviors.

RECOMMENDATION 15: Make the entire academic community responsible for reducing and preventing sexual harassment.

All members of our nation’s college campuses—students, trainees, faculty, staff, and administrators—as well as members of research and training sites should assume responsibility for promoting civil and respectful education, training, and work environments, and stepping up and confronting those whose behaviors and actions create sexually harassing environments.

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Over the last few decades, research, activity, and funding has been devoted to improving the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women in the fields of science, engineering, and medicine. In recent years the diversity of those participating in these fields, particularly the participation of women, has improved and there are significantly more women entering careers and studying science, engineering, and medicine than ever before. However, as women increasingly enter these fields they face biases and barriers and it is not surprising that sexual harassment is one of these barriers.

Over thirty years the incidence of sexual harassment in different industries has held steady, yet now more women are in the workforce and in academia, and in the fields of science, engineering, and medicine (as students and faculty) and so more women are experiencing sexual harassment as they work and learn. Over the last several years, revelations of the sexual harassment experienced by women in the workplace and in academic settings have raised urgent questions about the specific impact of this discriminatory behavior on women and the extent to which it is limiting their careers.

Sexual Harassment of Women explores the influence of sexual harassment in academia on the career advancement of women in the scientific, technical, and medical workforce. This report reviews the research on the extent to which women in the fields of science, engineering, and medicine are victimized by sexual harassment and examines the existing information on the extent to which sexual harassment in academia negatively impacts the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women pursuing scientific, engineering, technical, and medical careers. It also identifies and analyzes the policies, strategies and practices that have been the most successful in preventing and addressing sexual harassment in these settings.

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Sexual Harassment

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Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Hardcopy Version at National Academies Press

2 Sexual Harassment Research

This chapter reviews the information gathered through decades of sexual harassment research. It provides definitions of key terms that will be used throughout the report, establishing a common framework from the research literature and the law for discussing these issues. In reviewing what sexual harassment research has learned over time, the chapter also examines the research methods for studying sexual harassment and the appropriate methods for conducting this research in a reliable way. The chapter provides information on the prevalence of sexual harassment and common characteristics of how sexual harassment is perpetrated and experienced across lines of industry, occupation, and social class. It concludes with common characteristics of environments where sexual harassment is more likely to occur.

DEFINITIONS OF KEY TERMS

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines define sexual harassment as the following ( USEEOC n.d.a .):

Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.

Sexual harassment was first recognized in cases in which women lost their jobs because they rejected sexual overtures from their employers (e.g., Barnes v. Costle 1977 1 ). This type of sexual harassment became defined as quid pro quo sexual harassment (Latin for “this for that,” meaning that a job or educational opportunity is conditioned on some kind of sexual performance). Such coercive behavior was judged to constitute a violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Soon it was recognized in employment law that pervasive sexist behavior from coworkers can create odious conditions of employment—what became known as a hostile work environment —and also constitute illegal discrimination ( Farley 1978 ; MacKinnon 1979 ; Williams v. Saxbe 1976 2 ). These two basic forms of sexual harassment, quid pro quo and hostile environment harassment, were summarized in guidelines issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 1980 ( USEEOC 1980 ).

Hostile work or educational environments can be created by behaviors such as addressing women in crude or objectifying terms, posting pornographic images in the office, and by making demeaning or derogatory statements about women, such as telling anti-female jokes. Hostile environment harassment also encompasses unwanted sexual overtures such as exposing one's genitals, stroking and kissing someone, and pressuring a person for dates even if no quid pro quo is involved ( Bundy v. Jackson 1981; 3 Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson 1986 4 ).

An important distinction between quid pro quo and hostile environment harassment is that the former usually involves a one-on-one relationship in which the perpetrator has control of employment- or educational-related rewards or punishments over the target. In contrast, the latter can involve many perpetrators and many targets. In the hostile environment form of sexual harassment, coworkers often exhibit a pattern of hostile sexist behavior toward multiple targets over an extended period of time ( Holland and Cortina 2016 ). For hostile sex-related or gender-related behavior to be considered illegal sexual harassment, it must be pervasive or severe enough to be judged as having had a negative impact upon the work or educational environment. Therefore, isolated or single instances of such behavior typically qualify only when they are judged to be sufficiently severe. Legal scholars and judges continue to use the two subtype definitions of quid pro quo and hostile environment to define sexual harassment.

Illegal sexual harassment falls under the umbrella of a more comprehensive category, discriminatory behavior . Illegal discrimination can occur on the basis of any legally protected category: race, ethnicity, religious creed, age, sex, gender identity, marital status, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, genetic information, physical or mental disabilities, veteran status, prior conviction of a crime, gender identity or expression, or membership in other protected classes set forth in state or federal law. Regarding sexual harassment, the focus of this report, this includes gender harassment , a term designed to emphasize that harmful or illegal sexual harassment does not have to be about sexual activity ( USEEOC n.d.b .). Sexual harassment constitutes discrimination because it is harmful and it is based on gender—it is not necessarily motivated by sexual desire nor does it need to involve sexual activity.

Both legal doctrine and social science research recognize gender as encompassing both one's biological sex and gender-based stereotypes and expectations, such as heterosexuality and proper performance of gender roles. Sexual harassment in the form of gender harassment can be based on the violation of cultural gender stereotypes. For example, a man may experience gender harassment for being a “sissy” or being easily embarrassed by pornography (violating stereotypes that men should be strong, heterosexual, and sexually bold). While a woman may be gender harassed for taking a job traditionally held by a man or in a traditionally male field. Gender harassment in such a situation might consist of actions to sabotage the woman's tools, machinery, or equipment, or telling the woman she is not smart enough for scientific work. Subsequent sections of this report discuss gender harassment in greater detail.

Psychologists who study gender-related behavior have developed more nuanced terms to describe sexual harassment in order to more precisely measure and account for the behaviors that constitute sexual harassment and to describe how targets experience those behaviors. A three-part classification system divides sexual harassment into distinct but related categories: sexual coercion , unwanted sexual attention , and gender harassment (see Figure 2-1 ; Fitzgerald et al. 1988 ; 5 Fitzgerald, Gelfand, and Drasgow 1995 ; Gelfand, Fitzgerald, and Drasgow 1995 ).

The relationship between discriminatory behaviors, sex/gender discrimination, sexual harassment, gender harassment, quid pro quo sexual harassment, and hostile environment harassment. While sexual coercion is by definition quid pro quo sexual harassment, (more...)

Sexual coercion entails sexual advances, and makes the conditions of employment (or education, for students) contingent upon sexual cooperation.

Unwanted sexual attention also entails sexual advances, but it does not add professional rewards or threats to force compliance. In this category are expressions of romantic or sexual interest that are unwelcome, unreciprocated, and offensive to the target; examples include unwanted touching, hugging, stroking, and persistent requests for dates or sexual behavior despite discouragement, and can include assault ( Cortina, Koss, and Cook 2018 ; Fitzgerald, Gelfand, and Drasgow 1995 ; Fitzgerald, Swan, and Magley 1997 ).

Gender harassment is by far the most common type of sexual harassment. It refers to ‘‘a broad range of verbal and nonverbal behaviors not aimed at sexual cooperation but that convey insulting, hostile, and degrading attitudes about” members of one gender ( Fitzgerald, Gelfand, and Drasgow 1995 , 430). Gender harassment is further defined as two types: sexist hostility and crude harassment . Examples of the sexist hostility form of gender harassment for women include demeaning jokes or comments about women, comments that women do not belong in leadership positions or are not smart enough to succeed in a scientific career, and sabotaging women. The crude harassment form of gender harassment is defined as the use of sexually crude terms that denigrate people based on their gender (e.g., using insults such as “slut” to refer to a female coworker or “pussy” to refer to a male coworker; Fitzgerald, Gelfand, and Drasgow 1995 ).

Both women and men can and do experience all three forms of sexual harassment, but some subgroups face higher rates than others. For example, women who are lesbian or bisexual ( Cortina et al. 1998 ; Konik and Cortina 2008 ), women who endorse gender-egalitarian beliefs ( Dall'Ara and Maass 1999 ; Siebler, Sabelus, and Bohner 2008 ), and women who are stereotypically masculine in behavior, appearance, or personality ( Berdahl 2007b ; Leskinen, Rabelo, and Cortina 2015 ) experience sexual harassment at higher rates than other women. Likewise, men who are gay, transgender, petite, or in some way perceived as “not man enough” encounter more harassment than other men ( Berdahl 2007b ; Fitzgerald and Cortina 2017 ; Rabelo and Cortina 2014 ).

Interestingly, the motivation underlying sexual coercion and unwanted sexual attention behaviors appears different from the motivation underlying gender harassment. Whereas the first two categories suggest sexual advances (the goal being sexual exploitation of women), the third category is expressing hostility toward women (the goals being insult, humiliation, or ostracism) ( Holland and Cortina 2016 ). In other words, sexual coercion and unwanted sexual attention can be viewed as “come-ons,” while gender harassment is, for all intents and purposes, a “put-down” ( Fitzgerald, Gelfand, and Drasgow 1995 ; Leskinen, Cortina, and Kabat 2011 ). However, it is important to note that these come-on behaviors are not necessarily about attraction to women; more often than not, they are instead motivated by the desire to devalue women or punish those who violate gender norms ( Berdahl 2007b ; Cortina and Berdahl 2008 ).

Some researchers further define the verbal insults associated with gender harassment, along with accompanying nonverbal affronts, as microaggressions. This term refers to “brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative” messages ( Sue et al. 2007 , 271) to or about historically stigmatized groups. This term can also be broken down into three categories: microassaults, microinsults, and microinvalidations ( Sue et al. 2007 ). There is some concern that microaggression remains a poorly defined construct, with porous boundaries. Additionally, the use of the term micro is misleading, as it implies all these experiences are minor or imperceptible acts. Yet some microaggressions, such as referring to people by using offensive names, are obviously offensive and can be deeply damaging. Similarly the root word aggression is also misleading, as most experts reserve this term for behavior that carries intent to harm ( Lilienfeld 2017 ). For these reasons, our committee chose to focus on incivility , a term in greater use in the workplace aggression literature.

Incivility refers to “low-intensity deviant behavior with ambiguous intent to harm the target, in violation of workplace norms for mutual respect. Uncivil behaviors are characteristically rude and discourteous, displaying a lack of regard for others” ( Andersson and Pearson 1999 , 457). Lim and Cortina's 2005 study on two female populations in public-sector organizations (Ns = 833 and 1,425) revealed that sexual harassment often takes place against a backdrop of incivility, or in other words, in an environment of generalized disrespect. The authors argue that, based on their findings, the same perpetrator “may instigate multiple forms of mistreatment—both sexualized and generalized—in efforts to debase women and reinforce or raise their own social advantage” (492). Lim and Cortina point out that if sexual harassment is tolerated in an organization or not seen as a deviant behavior, incidents of general incivility would be expected to be even less likely to receive attention from management. Based on these findings, it could be argued that generalized incivility should be a red flag for leadership or management in work and education environments, because when gender harassment occurs, it is virtually always in environments with high rates of uncivil conduct ( Cortina et al. 2002 ; Lim and Cortina 2005 ).

Note that sexual harassment is often ambient , meaning it is “not clearly targeted at any individual or group of individuals” ( Parker 2008 , 947) in the work or education environment or behavior that goes beyond the direct target of the harassment ( Glomb et al. 1997 ). Ambient sexual harassment is determined by a general “frequency of sexually harassing behavior experienced by others” and can include all types of sexually harassing behavior (309). For example, it can include pornography being displayed in a common area or sexually abusive language being used publicly in the work or education environment ( Parker 2008 ). Ambient unwanted sexual attention and sexual coercion refer to observed instances of unwanted sexual pursuit, targeted at a fellow employee. In other words, one need not be personally targeted to feel the effects of sexual harassment (much like second-hand smoke).

Despite refined definitions and terms to describe sexual harassment and gender discrimination, documenting the degree of these behaviors in work and education environments remains challenging. This is in part because individuals experiencing these behaviors rarely label them as such. Numerous studies have demonstrated that more than half of working women report experiencing sexually harassing behavior at work, but less than 20 percent of those women actually describe the experience as “sexual harassment” ( Ellis, Barak, and Pinto 1991 ; Ilies et al. 2003 ; Magley, Hulin, et al. 1999 ; Magley and Shupe 2005 ).

Considering these sources, the report uses the following definition of sexual harassment:

Sexual harassment (a form of discrimination) is composed of three categories of behavior: (1) gender harassment (verbal and nonverbal behaviors that convey hostility, objectification, exclusion, or second-class status about members of one gender), (2) unwanted sexual attention (verbal or physical unwelcome sexual advances, which can include assault), and (3) sexual coercion (when favorable professional or educational treatment is conditioned on sexual activity). Harassing behavior can be either direct (targeted at an individual) or ambient (a general level of sexual harassment in an environment).

Box 2-1 provides a quick review of the key terms introduced in this chapter.

Summary of Key Terms.

RESEARCH METHODS USED TO EXAMINE SEXUAL HARASSMENT

The goal of providing recommendations for preventing sexual harassment and mitigating its effects in academic science, engineering, and medicine requires evidence-based research. Different studies have different strengths and weaknesses, and these should be kept in mind when reviewing their findings, particularly if leaders in academic institutions, legislators, and researchers hope to design meaningful and effective interventions and policies. The two most commonly used study methods are surveys and laboratory experiments. Important findings have also emerged using in-depth interviews, case studies, sociolegal analyses, and other methods. When conducting or reviewing research examining sexual harassment, it is crucial that the methods used to conduct the research match the goals for the research. It is crucial to note that the prevalence of sexual harassment in a population is best estimated using representative surveys and not by relying on the invariably lower number of official reports of sexual harassment made to an organization (see the discussion in Chapter 4 about how rare it is for women to formally report their experience). The next sections discuss these various research methods and the kind of information they provide.

Survey Methods

Surveys, containing well-validated instruments, can be useful in estimating the prevalence (how common sexual harassment experiences or behaviors are among people in a given population) and determining correlates, antecedents, outcomes, and factors that attenuate or amplify outcomes from sexual harassment. For instance, they can assess links between harassment and different aspects of targets' well-being, targets' understanding of the resources available to them, and the strategies they use to cope. Basing a survey on a defined population accessible from a comprehensive list, or sample frame, can be helpful. Sometimes, too, using multiple instruments and data sources can be a highly effective approach. Though surveys have often focused on the targets of sexually harassing behavior (e.g., Fitzgerald, Drasgow, and Magley 1999 ), some work has also been done examining self-descriptions by perpetrators (e.g., Dekker and Barling 1998 ) and bystanders (e.g., Hitlan, Schneider, and Walsh 2006 ; Richman-Hirsch and Glomb 2002 ; Miner-Rubino and Cortina 2004 , 2007 ).

Conducting surveys on sexual harassment is challenging, but fortunately researchers have addressed many of these challenges. Those wishing to conduct a survey on sexual harassment ought to follow the scientific methods described below and the ethical and safety guidelines for this type of research ( WHO 2001 ). Poorly conducting surveys on sexual harassment is unethical because responding to the survey could needlessly retraumatize the respondent. Additionally, the resulting inaccurate data from such a survey could be used to question the importance and legitimacy of such an important and sensitive topic ( WHO 2001 ).

An initial challenge in conducting survey research on sexual harassment is that many women are not likely to label their experiences as sexual harassment. Additionally, women who experience the gender harassment type of sexual harassment are more than 7 times less likely to label their experiences as “sexual harassment” than women who experience unwanted sexual attention or sexual coercion ( Holland and Cortina 2013 ). This illustrates what other research has shown: that in both the law and the lay public, the dominant understandings of sexual harassment overemphasize two forms of sexual harassment, sexual coercion and unwanted sexual attention, while downplaying the third (most common) type—gender harassment (see Figure 2-2 ; Leskinen, Cortina, and Kabat 2011 ; Schultz 1998 ). Regardless of whether women self-label their experiences as sexual harassment or not, they all have similar negative psychological and professional outcomes ( Magley, Hulin, et al. 1999 ; Woodzicka and LaFrance 2005 ).

The public consciousness of sexual harassment and specific sexually harassing behaviors.

This labeling issue was first identified in research on rape and sexual violence. Surveys conducted by Koss (1992) revealed that when respondents were asked simply, “Have you been raped?” estimates of the number of people raped in the college population were very low, yet when asked whether they had experienced a series of specific behaviors that would meet legal criteria for rape, estimates of the number of people raped were much higher. Subsequent studies of sexual harassment found similar results ( Ilies et al. 2003 ; Schneider, Pryor, and Fitzgerald 2011 ), and Fitzgerald and colleagues (1988) established the Sexual Experiences Questionnaire (SEQ) to standardize questions about specific sexual harassment behaviors rather than asking about “sexual harassment” generally. With extensive psychometric evidence supporting it, the SEQ has become the gold standard in the assessment of sexual harassment experiences in both work and school settings ( Cortina and Berdahl 2008 ). Unfortunately, some recent studies attempting to measure the prevalence of sexual harassment have not followed this good practice and are thus likely to have low prevalence rates, be missing data about those who have experienced gender harassment, and as a result be unreliable for evaluating the prevalence of sexual harassment.

Another hurdle faced by surveys on sexual harassment is that women who have experienced sexual harassment may be reluctant to respond to a survey on the topic or to admit being a target or victim because sexual harassment can be stigmatizing, humiliating, and traumatizing ( Greco, O'Boyle, and Walter 2015 ; Bumiller 1987 , 1992 ). To encourage open self-reports, it is important that survey responses are confidential, if not anonymous, and to reassure survey participants that this is the case. Additionally, to help avoid a nonresponse bias (i.e., some segments of a population selectively declining to participate), sexual harassment experts do not use the term sexual harassment or sexual misconduct in the survey title and instead situate their questions about sexual harassment within a broader survey that asks about social concerns such as gender issues, civility, or culture. In a meta-analytic review of the incidence of sexual harassment in the United States, Ilies and colleagues (2003) found that directly asking respondents whether they had experienced sexual harassment (as opposed to using questionnaires that list behaviors that constitute sexual harassment) led to substantially lower estimates of sexual harassment incidence.

When determining prevalence estimates, attention must be given to minimizing nonresponse biases in the survey sample. Nonresponse biases include attitudes and other characteristics that disincline people from survey participation ( Krosnick et al. 2015 ). A reluctance to answer questions about sexually harassing experiences could represent a nonresponse bias. While low response rates are not synonymous with low levels of nonresponse bias, generally low response rates should be interpreted with caution and will raise limitations on what conclusions can be drawn because of the representativeness of the survey sample ( Dillman, Smyth, and Christian 2008 ; Ilies et al. 2003 ). Just as it is important to be cautious about deriving prevalence estimates from samples with lower response rates, researchers and leaders in academic institutions must also be judicious when deriving such estimates from nonprobability samples (see Yeager, Krosnick, and Javitz [2009] for a discussion of the problems with opt-in internet surveys). 6

A challenge for any survey that is particularly important for sexual harassment surveys is their ability to gather information about nonmajority members of a given workplace or campus. Often women of color and sexual- and gender-minority women have been underrepresented among survey respondents, resulting in unreliable prevalence rates for these specific populations. Recent research is beginning to address this by looking at sexual harassment through the lens of intersectionality and by working to oversample these underrepresented populations when conducting surveys.

Convenience sampling (in which participants are recruited from social media or specialized groups with a specific target group in mind) and snowball sampling (recruiting additional subjects by asking participants who else they know in their networks who would also know about the topic) are useful means of recruiting hard-to-reach or underrepresented populations (e.g., lesbians who are not “out” at work, minority groups for whom no lists are available) ( Meyer and Wilson 2009 ). These studies can yield critical insights, even though the samples cannot be considered representative of a particular population. A good example of this approach is the recent study about the experiences of women of color in the fields of astronomy and planetary science, identified via convenience sampling. The researchers found that women of color were more likely to report hearing sexist remarks from supervisors or peers in the workplace than did white women, white men, or men of color. Women of color were also more likely to feel unsafe at work because of their gender ( Clancy et al. 2017 ). This study shows how survey data can be used to test relationships among important variables such as race, gender, sexual harassment, and sense of safety, yielding conclusions about who is most likely to be targeted for sexually harassing behaviors, and with what effects.

When determining and comparing prevalence rates, it is important to distinguish the prevalence rates for women separate from men and not to rely on a combined prevalence for both genders. Relying on combined rates will result in a lower rate because women are much more likely to experience sexual harassment than men ( USMSPB 1995 ; Magley, Waldo, et al. 1999 ; Ilies et al. 2003 ; Kabat-Farr and Cortina 2014 ).

Another methodological feature to be particularly attentive to when estimating and comparing prevalence rates is the time period respondents are asked about. In some studies, no time limit is given, while others may limit it to the last 12 or 24 months. The longer the time period, the more likely the rates will be skewed and not assess current incidence. Longer time periods can result in higher incidence rates because more time means more women are likely to have experienced such behavior. However, after long enough periods, memory deterioration sets in, leaving behind only those sexual harassment experiences that left a lasting memory, and leaving out everyday sexist comments or ambient harassment. Additionally, longer time periods can also introduce the risk that the incident could have occurred at a past environment, not the current one under investigation.

Lastly, a key obstacle to obtaining accurate prevalence numbers across academia and between fields or workplaces is the number of surveys available that do not always use a standardized method for measuring or defining sexual harassment. Unfortunately, when institutions make their decisions about which survey or questions to use, they often do not seem to be aware of good practices in sexual harassment research or to have consulted with a sexual harassment researcher, because different methodologies and measurement approaches have been used ( Wood et al. 2017 ). As a result, the surveys not only produce unreliable prevalence numbers but also pose a risk of “comparing apples to oranges” when analyzing the data across institutions. The largest concern when comparing prevalence rates is differences in how sexual harassment is defined in the survey and during the analysis of the responses. A meta-analysis of sexual harassment surveys demonstrates that the prevalence rate is 24 percent when women are asked whether they have experienced “sexual harassment” versus 58 percent when they are asked whether they experienced harassing behaviors that meet the definition of sexual harassment (and are then classified as such in the analysis) ( Ilies et al. 2003 ). In other words, the direct query method gives an estimate of prevalence based on the respondent's perception, while the behavioral experiences method estimates the extent to which potentially harassing incidents happen in an organization. This research also demonstrates that these differences were not due to differences in work environments or to sampling method ( Ilies et al. 2003 ).

To try to present the most accurate information on the prevalence of sexual harassment, the report references surveys that follow good practices in both sexual harassment research and survey research and that clearly identify differences in time period and definitions.

Experimental Methods

Another way that information has been gathered about sexual harassment has been through laboratory experiments, in which researchers examine the occurrence of sexually harassing behaviors by manipulating variables under controlled conditions. The advantage of this approach is that researchers can directly observe sexually harassing behavior. This approach, however, does not provide information on the prevalence of sexual harassment.

Some of the behaviors that have been directly observed in experiments include the following:

Unsolicited sexual touching by someone in a supervisory role ( Pryor, LaVite, and Stoller 1993 );
Unsolicited touching from peers ( Pryor 1987 );
Nonverbal dominance behaviors ( Murphy, Driscoll, and Kelly 1999 );
Sending unsolicited pornographic materials electronically ( Dall'Ara and Maass 1999 ; Maass et al. 2003 );
Sending sexist jokes electronically ( Galdi, Maass, and Cadinu 2014 );
Sending sexual come-ons electronically ( Diehl, Rees, and Bohner 2012 );
Asking sexist questions in an interview ( Hitlan et al. 2009 ); and
Sexualized behavior, such as staring at a woman's body, during an interview ( Rudman and Borgida 1995 ).

Laboratory experiments can help uncover situational factors that encourage or discourage potential perpetrators from engaging in sexually harassing behavior. For instance, experiments show that sexual harassment is less likely to occur if those behaviors are not accepted by authority figures ( Pryor, LaVite, and Stoller 1993 ). Another experiment found that men exposed to sexist television portrayals of women were more likely to send sexist jokes to women in an online interaction ( Galdi, Maass, and Cadinu 2014 ).

Laboratory experiments can also provide a snapshot of how women might respond in a sexually harassing situation. For example, research by Woodzicka and LaFrance (2001) reveals the difference between how women think they would respond and how they do respond. In the first study, college women were asked to imagine how they would respond to being asked sexist questions during a job interview. In the second study, women participated in what they thought to be an actual job interview where such questions were asked. Results showed a disconnect between what women thought they would do (get angry, confront, and complain) and what they actually did (become fearful, neither confront nor complain).

On the other hand, there are also limitations to laboratory experiments. While they can reveal responses to actual behaviors, those reactions occur in an artificial laboratory setting (not a real professional or educational setting, with people who have real relationships, interdependencies, status hierarchies, etc.). Participants in experiments are often college students who have limited work experience and diversity (primarily white, middle class, under the age of 20). Also, experiments provide a snapshot of only one moment of time, providing a single look at behaviors and responses. Surveys and accounts from litigants in sexual harassment cases suggest that the worst cases of sexual harassment are not isolated incidents, but something that takes place over a period of time ( Cantalupo and Kidder 2017a , 2017b ), which experiments cannot assess.

Interviews, Case Studies, and Other Qualitative Methods

Qualitative research offers a wide range of methodologies that can be useful in understanding sexual harassment, though it is best known for individual, semi-structured interviews ( Bazeley 2003 ). Qualitative research can also be conducted in focus groups, bringing together similar constituencies in order to facilitate conversations among participants. Several social science disciplines also use ethnographic or autoethnographic methods. Ethnography is a systematic way of participating and observing in particular settings or cultures to answer research questions about the intersection of culture and lived experience, where autoethnography invites researchers to reflect on their personal experiences, and connect those experiences to a wider research question. For instance, much of the early work on sexual harassment in the field sciences was either interviews or autoethnography, particularly among cultural anthropologists, who often conduct their field work alone (e.g., Sharp and Kremer 2006 ). Qualitative approaches also include textual analysis of existing primary sources (e.g., studying science syllabi or job postings for gendered language), and case studies or narratives, where a single story is followed in depth. Case study data is often collected via interview, the difference being that rather than interviewing a large enough number to achieve saturation, a researcher will go for greater depth with each participant to construct a more detailed narrative (e.g., Banerjee and Pawley 2013 ).

Qualitative approaches are widely recognized as the method of choice for generating insight into complex phenomena, the contexts in which they occur, and their consequences ( Cho, Crenshaw, and McCall 2013 ). Such methods are thought to be particularly well suited to providing key background information and highlighting the experiences and perceptions of targets of oppression, such as those who have experienced sexual harassment. The approach also gives a voice to perspectives that tend not to be heard or to those with experiences that have few precedents in prior research ( Sofaer 1999 ).

Sociolegal Methods

Sociolegal studies is an interdisciplinary field in which scholars use all the research methods described above (surveys, experiments, interviews, case studies, ethnography) to study a wide range of topics about formal laws, law-like systems of rules, and the social and political relationships that help constitute what law is ( Banakar and Travers 2005 ). Legal research methods are also a part of sociolegal methods, and these include doctrinal analysis, legal history and doctrinal development studies, and answering questions about exactly what formal legal rules exist across jurisdictions and interrelated areas of law, where there is often ambiguity and conflict. Sociolegal scholars are, of course, attentive to what formal rules and laws actually exist (with sexual harassment, it is Title VII and Title IX doctrines), but a starting approach is to presume that what law is and how it works is much more complex than doctrinal study alone can reveal.

Sociolegal research methods tend to be based in the empirical, observational social sciences supported by legal research. Classic studies using these methods have documented how ordinary people generally resolve their disputes using local customs and norms rather than formal law ( Macaulay 1963 ; Ellickson 1991 ); how bringing a personal injury claim in a small community is a mark of outsider, subordinated status ( Engel 1984 ); and how difficult it can be for people who have experienced discrimination to use legal protections, because doing so causes them to feel victimized again ( Bumiller 1992 ). These types of sociolegal studies share the strengths and limitations of ethnographic and qualitative research methods generally: on the one hand, they can capture the rich contextual detail of a particular setting, group of people, and set of relationships, but on the other hand, they are limited in time and location, and do not yield broadly generalizable claims. Nonetheless, decades of research using these methods have yielded a considerable body of research that strongly suggests that what the formal law is and what people understand it to be are often quite far apart; that using formal systems to make claims about wrongs done to them is a very difficult thing for most people to do, though it can be empowering and produce social change; and that laws and the legal system typically support existing power structures rather than fundamentally reshape them ( Freeman 1978 ; Edelman 2016 ; Berrey, Nelson, and Nielsen 2017 ).

A sociolegal research method requires study of the law at many levels of experience to approach sexual harassment, for example, because it matters just as much what women think they deserve or will likely get as what the law formally offers them. Anna-Maria Marshall's study of sexual harassment experiences among female staff members at a midwestern university in 1997–1998, for example, combined in-depth interviewing of 25 female staff members with legal analysis at the national level, policy analysis at the university level, and a survey sent to 1,000 female employees selected at random from a university workplace to understand what counted as sexual harassment from their perspectives ( Marshall 2005 ). Whether something in a science, engineering, and medicine educational or workplace setting is sexual harassment is a category of experience for everyone involved, in other words, that must be assigned meaning, obligations, rights, duties, and processes.

Sociolegal scholars can also bridge between the social science methodologies and the law through research on what they call the “iceberg” or the “tip-of-the-iceberg” problem. The tip-of-the-iceberg problem is the recognition by researchers that published legal disputes are a very skewed and systematically unrepresentative sample from the universe of disputes. As Peter Siegelman and John Donohue (1990) describe the problem, “Most potential disputes never get defined by the actors as such, most actual disputes don't go to court, most court cases are settled rather than adjudicated, and most adjudicated cases are not appealed” (1133). Their analysis of published and unpublished district court opinions suggests that cases that reach the stage of a published judicial opinion may concern newer areas of case law or more dramatic or unusual circumstances that help explain why these cases were not disposed of earlier and before they appear for researchers to find. Publication as a legal outcome is one of the only ways a sexual harassment case could come to be known and studied, but there are many more legally protected routes to keeping cases and their outcomes from view. Confidential settlements, nondisclosure agreements, confidential notations in an academic or employment record, and dispositions of complaints that are not written down are all outcomes that cannot be studied, tracked, counted, or assessed.

Even when legal scholars attempt to collect samples of hundreds of sexual harassment claims, such as Ann Juliano and Stewart J. Schwab's 2000 survey of every reported federal district and appellate court ruling on sexual harassment between 1986 and 1995, totaling nearly 650, they concede that these cases are not representative of the universe of incidents. Juliano and Schwab found that the most successful cases involved sexual conduct directed at a specific target in a mostly male workplace that the target had complained about but which the employer had failed to respond to with any formal process ( Juliano and Schwab 2000 , 593). Another study, Nancy Chi Cantalupo and William Kidder's (2017b) recent study of sexual harassment in the academic context, attempts to pull cases from as far down the iceberg as possible, drawing in incidents recorded in more venues than the usual publication sources for judicial opinions, including media reports, administrative civil rights investigations at the Departments of Education and Justice, published lawsuits by students, and lawsuits over reinstatement for faculty members fired for sexual harassment. Cantalupo and Kidder find more physical (as opposed to verbal) harassment conduct and more evidence of serial harassers in documented complaints than survey researchers have found, for example. Even if they are not based in representative samples of cases and thus cannot be used to generalize about harassment rates, studies such as these can still yield important research conclusions about sexual harassment adjudications and judicial attitudes toward them.

PREVALENCE OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT

Studies on sexual harassment from the 1980s through today continue to show that sexual harassment of women is widespread in workplaces and that the rates of sexual harassment have not significantly decreased. Studies have also identified common characteristics of sexual harassment in different workplaces and uncovered characteristics of workplaces that are associated with higher rates of sexual harassment. This section and the next one review what research can tell us about the trends in sexual harassment rates over time and what the common characteristics are of sexual harassment and sexually harassing environments.

Wherever possible, the report cites the most recent scientific studies of a topic. That said, the empirical research into sexual harassment, using rigorous scientific methods, dates back to the 1980s. This report cites conclusions from the earlier work when those results reveal historical trends or patterns over time. It also cites results from earlier studies when there is no theoretical reason to expect findings to have changed with the passage of time. For example, the inverse relationship between sexual harassment and job satisfaction is a robust one: the more an individual is harassed on the job, the less she or he likes that job. That basic finding has not changed over the course of 30 years, and there is no reason to expect that it will.

To access the trends in prevalence for sexual harassment, ideally we would examine longitudinal data that uses a well-validated behavior-based instrument for different workplaces and industries; unfortunately, this data is not available. The U.S. Merit System Protection Board (USMSPB) was one of the first organizations to study sexual harassment, with a focus on the federal workforce, which includes a variety of job types and workplace environments. The USMSPB surveys, conducted in 1980, 1987, 1994, and 2016, asked scientifically selected samples of federal workers about their experiences of specific forms of sexual harassment 7 at work in the past 24 months. These surveys used behavioral questions; however, they did not use the SEQ, and in earlier years the survey did not ask about nonsexualized forms of gender harassment such as sexist comments, which are known to be the most common form of sexual harassment ( Kabat-Farr and Cortina 2014 ). As a result, this is not a good source of longitudinal data covering all three forms of sexual harassment.

This survey does, however, provide an opportunity to assess a population's understanding of the term sexual harassment. The USMSPB conducted surveys that asked respondents whether they would classify certain behaviors as “sexual harassment.” The results showed that from 1980 to 2016 the proportion of respondents who classify the behaviors as sexual harassment rose, demonstrating an improvement in the population's understanding of that term. The percentage of men who believe that pressuring a female coworker for sexual favors is sexual harassment rose from 65 percent in 1980 to 93 percent in 1994 and to 97 percent in 2016. Likewise, the percentage of men who perceived unwanted sexual remarks in the workplace as being sexual harassment rose from 42 percent in 1980 to 64 percent in 1994 and to 94 percent in 2016. There was also an increase seen in the perceptions of women—the percentage of women who considered a coworker's sexual remarks as sexual harassment rose from 54 percent in 1980 to 77 percent in 1994 and to 95 percent in 2016. It is also significant to note that of respondents experiencing sexual harassing behaviors in the 2016 survey, only about 11 percent took any kind of formal action, such as filing a complaint or report with their organization ( USMSPB 2018 ). As the results just discussed demonstrate, this lack of reporting was not due to respondents inaccurately defining sexual harassment; rather, it reflects a reluctance by people to take formal action, which will be discussed in more detail in Chapter 4 .

The U.S. military is the other organization to study sexual harassment through large surveys early on and over multiple years. Starting in 1995 and going to 2012 8 the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) has used an SEQ-format survey that asked about more than 20 specific sex- or gender-related behaviors experienced in the past 12 months. As shown in the results in Table 2-1 , the data demonstrate that the prevalence of all three types of sexual harassment has been consistent. It also demonstrates that the gender-harassing form of sexual harassment (broken out into crude and offensive behavior and sexist behavior) is by far the most prevalent type of sexually harassing behavior, a finding that is consistent with research in other workplace settings ( Kabat-Farr and Cortina 2014 ).

TABLE 2-1. Rate of Active Duty Military Women Experiencing Sexually Harassing Behaviors at Least Once in the Past 12 Months as Measured in 2000, 2006, 2010, and 2012.

Rate of Active Duty Military Women Experiencing Sexually Harassing Behaviors at Least Once in the Past 12 Months as Measured in 2000, 2006, 2010, and 2012.

Given that there is limited longitudinal data on the prevalence of sexual harassment that uses a well-validated behavior-based instrument, the best analysis of the prevalence of sexual harassment across workplaces and time comes from a meta-analysis by Ilies and colleagues (2003) . Based on more than 86,000 respondents from 55 probability samples, Illies and colleagues demonstrate that on average, 58 percent of women experience sexually harassing behaviors at work. Looking further into the different workplace sectors, the researchers found that there was some variation between sectors, with the prevalence ranging from 43 to 69 percent (this is discussed further in Chapter 3 when comparing the academic environment to other sectors). Their analysis of trends over time revealed that over the 25 years examined, women who responded to surveys with behavioral-based instruments (and which used a probability sample) reported increasingly more experiences of sexual harassment. The authors note that their data cannot investigate the reasons for this change, and that only a time-trend analysis of data obtained from the same instruments can truly answer the question of what is the trend in prevalence rates.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND SEXUALLY HARASSING ENVIRONMENTS

Rigorous survey research has identified common characteristics of sexual harassment. This work pushes against some of the main assumptions made on what it is, as well as how sexual harassment affects the targets, the bystanders, and the atmosphere of work and education settings. Here the chapter describes some of the aspects of sexual harassment that are strongly supported by the literature. However, we note that the data on varying experiences of sexual harassment of women of color, sexual minorities, and gender minorities is sparse, so these characteristics are likely to reflect the experience of majority women.

Characteristics of Sexual Harassment

Women are more likely to be sexually harassed than men and to experience sexual harassment at higher frequencies ( USMSPB 1995 ; Magley, Hulin et al. 1999 ; Ilies et al. 2003 ; Kabat-Farr and Cortina 2014 ). The 2012 DMDC survey results shown in Table 2-2 demonstrate that across all three types of sexual harassment, female personnel, compared with their male counterparts, were more likely to have experienced at least one instance of sexually harassing conduct over the prior 12 months. Likewise, in the 1994 USMSPB study of federal workers, it found more women (44 percent) than men (19 percent) describing experiences of any of seven types of sexually harassing behavior in the past 2 years at work ( USMSPB 1995 ). In a more recent study using the SEQ, Rosenthal, Smidt, and Freyd (2016) surveyed 525 graduate students regarding their exposure to sexual harassment while in graduate school. Female students were 1.64 times more likely to have experienced sexually harassing behavior from faculty or staff (38 percent) compared with male students (23 percent). Though the occasional survey reports no significant gender difference (e.g., Konik and Cortina 2008 ) in a specific group, many studies have found women encountering more sexually harassing conduct than men encounter.

Rate of Active Duty Military Women and Men Experiencing Sexually Harassing Behaviors at Least Once in the Past 12 Months.

The overwhelming majority of sexual harassment involves some form of gender harassment (the put-downs of sexual harassment that include sexist hostility and crude behavior). Unwanted sexual attention is the next most common form of sexual harassment, and only a small minority of women experience sexual coercion. For instance, Schneider, Swan, and Fitzgerald (1997) analyzed data from two samples of women: factory workers and university faculty/staff. In both samples, gender harassment was by far the most common experience: 54–60 percent of women described some encounter with gender harassment, either with or without unwanted sexual attention. In contrast, sexual coercion was rare, described by approximately 4 percent of women in each sample. Moreover, sexual coercion never took place without unwanted sexual attention and gender harassment. When analyzing the sexual harassment of graduate students, Rosenthal, Smidt, and Freyd (2016) found that 59 percent of harassment incidents involved some form of gender harassment, while only 5 percent included unwanted touching, and less than 4 percent entailed sexual coercion. In another study, Leskinen, Cortina, and Kabat (2011) analyzed survey data from two samples of women who work in highly male-dominated sectors: the military and the law. Focusing only on data from women who had encountered at least one sexually harassing behavior in the prior year, they found that 9 of every 10 people who experienced sexual harassment had encountered gender harassment with little or no unwanted sexual attention or coercion. While a recent national survey of 615 working men found that of the 25 percent of male respondents that admitted they had done at least one sexually harassing behavior in the last year, the most common form was gender harassment and the least common was sexual coercion ( Patel, Griggs, and Miller 2017 ).

That gender harassment is the most common type of sexual harassment is an unexpected finding in terms of what constitutes sexual harassment because unwanted sexual advances and sexual coercion are the most commonly reported both in official Title IX/Human Resources documentation ( Cantalupo and Kidder 2017a , 2017b ) and in the media. 9 This is in part why the misguided idea that sexual harassment is about sex has persisted.

In the vast majority of incidents of sexual harassment of women, men are the perpetrators. For instance, in the 1994 USMSPB study, 93 percent of sexually harassed women reported their perpetrators to be male ( USMSPB 1995 ). The DMDC's 1995 study turned up remarkably similar results, with 92 percent of sexually harassed women describing male perpetrators ( Magley, Waldo et al. 1999 ). In Rosenthal, Smidt, and Freyd's (2016) study of the sexual harassment of graduate students, among those who had been sexually harassed by faculty/staff, 86 percent of women described their harassers as male. Even when men are the targets of sexually harassing conduct, more often than not the perpetrator is also male (see also Kabat-Farr and Cortina 2014 ; Magley, Waldo et al. 1999 ).

Women are frequently harassed by coworkers and other employees (for students, it is fellow peers); superiors are not the most common perpetrators 10 ( USMSPB 1995 , 2018; AAUW 2005 ; Schneider, Pryor, and Fitzgerald 2011 ; Rosenthal, Smidt, and Freyd 2016 ). For example, in Rosenthal, Smidt, and Freyd's (2016) study of graduate students, 38 percent of female participants self-reported that they had experienced sexual harassment from faculty or staff, while 58 percent described sexual harassment from other students. In a study by Huerta and colleagues (2006) , student targets of sexual harassment described the harassing experience that bothered them the most. Fully three-quarters of these targets indicated the perpetrator of this “most bothersome” incident to be a peer (fellow student), whereas only one-quarter had perpetrators who were higher-status individuals (staff, faculty, or administrators).

Targets of sexual harassment often face repeated sexually harassing behaviors rather than one single incident. Rosenthal, Smidt, and Freyd's 2016 study of graduate students, in which 38 percent of women had encountered sexual harassment from faculty/staff and 58 percent had faced sexual harassment from students, only a small fraction (one-third or less) of these women described their harassment experience as being limited to a single incident. This confirms earlier research using data from the 1987 USMSPB survey, in which researchers found that “75 percent of those experiencing sexual teasing and jokes reported that it was not a one-time occurrence, and 54 percent of those pressured for sexual favors reported that it had occurred more than once ( USMSPB 1988 ). For most women, the harassment lasted more than a week, and often as long as 6 months” ( Schneider, Swan, and Fitzgerald 1997 , 402).

Sexual Harassment Among Women of Color and Sexual- and Gender-Minority Women

What is known about women's experiences is that those who have multiple marginalities—for instance women of color and sexual- and gender-minority women—experience certain kinds of harassment at greater rates than other women (e.g., Buchanan, Settles, and Woods 2008 ; Clancy et al. 2017 ; Cortina 2004 ; Cortina et al. 1998 ; Konik and Cortina 2008 ; Rabelo and Cortina 2014 ). Additionally, the cultural context in which people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds operate, as well as when they are numerically less represented in a workplace, can have effects on how they experience sexual harassment ( Cortina et al. 2002 ; Welsh et al. 2006 ). Thus, there is a wide spectrum of vulnerabilities, experiences, and consequences for women of color and gender minorities who are sexually harassed in the workplace.

As a field of study and as an analytical lens, intersectionality provides a framework to make visible the mutually constitutive relationship among race, ethnicity, sexuality, class, and other social positions that affect targets' experiences of harassment ( Collins 2015 ). It is rooted in Black feminism and Critical Race Theory and also makes visible intersecting axes of oppression that contribute to power hierarchies within a social structure related to race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class. Addressing the legacy of exclusions of black women, legal scholar Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw used the concept of intersectionality to highlight the intersection of race and gender discrimination and how treating them as exclusive, and not intertwined, rendered the discrimination and multiple marginalities faced by black women invisible to antidiscrimination law ( Crenshaw 1989 , 1991 ). More recently, Crenshaw described intersectionality as a work in progress to denote the movement in and broadening of its use across disciplines and to a wider range of social locations ( Carbado 2013 ; Crenshaw 2014 ).

Some scholars have applied an intersectional lens to examine the sexual harassment experiences of women of color, though research in this area is still very limited. It is important to prioritize the study of sexual harassment among noncisgender (cisgender means feeling aligned with the gender you were assigned at birth), nonstraight, nonwhite women when considering the impact of sexual harassment within an organization. Recent research that has begun to look at sexual harassment through the lens of intersectionality reveals how the experiences of women of color compare with that of white women, white men, and men of color. This research demonstrates that women of color and sexual- and gender-minority women sometimes experience sexual harassment differently from other populations. Women of color often experience sexual harassment as a manifestation of both gender and race discrimination ( Cortina et al. 2002 ; Murrell 1996 ), which combined can lead to higher rates of overall harassment ( Berdahl and Moore 2006 ; Woods, Buchanan, and Settles 2009 ).

The RTI International interviews 11 were able to glean complexities of intersectionality and sexually harassing behavior. Respondents noted that the issues of sexual- and gender-based harassment are often overpowered by how other issues such as race and sexual orientation intersect with their lived experience as women. These women noted an inability to disentangle discrimination and biases as stemming either from gender or their intersecting identities ( RTI 2018 ).

And then there's a lot of fairly overt transphobia in my institution, I think. And I don't really know what to make of it. But there's sort of . . . traditional old Southern set of gendered expectations and norms that if you don't fit them, it's pretty clear what people think, and they don't have to say a lot about it for you to know, you know what I mean? ( Nontenure-track faculty member in nursing ) What I've concluded is that [much] of my push towards and tenacity around equality and equity actually lands on race. I think part of that is because I've been more affronted by my race than my gender, at least more overtly. Meaning, I've had people say to my face I don't want to be taking care of that black person, oh, you speak articulate for a black person. These micro-aggressions that go out there and statements and these innuendos. ( Nontenure-track faculty member in medicine )

These studies demonstrate that an individual's identity can affect how sexual harassment is perpetrated.

Likewise, lesbian, gay, and bisexual women encounter forms of harassment that reflect a combination of sexism and heterosexism ( Konik and Cortina 2008 ; Rabelo and Cortina 2014 ). Nonbinary individuals, on the other hand, must negotiate their identities within the constructs of the gender binary that is still prevalent today ( Dietert and Dentice 2009 ). A study by Irwin (2002) examined workplace discrimination in the education sector in Australia among gay men, lesbians, and transgender individuals. Irwin found that greater than 60 percent of teachers, academics, and educators who identified as lesbian, gay, or transgender have experienced homophobic behavior and/or harassment, and have been discriminated against in the workplace. The study also found that 16 percent of the individuals who identified as lesbian, gay, or transgender have been sexually harassed, and one participant was sexually assaulted.

The research on sexual minorities has shown that this population experiences more sexual harassment than heterosexual individuals. In a study of 629 employees in higher education, nearly 76.9 percent of sexual minorities (of both genders) experienced gender harassment, whereas only 30 percent of heterosexuals (of both genders) experienced gender harassment ( Konik and Cortina 2008 ). This trend continued for the other forms of sexual harassment (unwanted sexual attention and sexual coercion): 39.7 percent of sexual minorities experienced these types, whereas only 15.5 percent of heterosexuals experienced these types. In another study the prevalence and impact of heterosexist harassment, which is insensitive verbal and symbolic (but nonassaultive) behaviors that convey animosity toward nonheterosexuality, was examined among students. The study specifically looked at how experiences of this type of harassment affected sexual minorities and heterosexuals differently and found that sexual minorities were more likely to experience heterosexist harassment than heterosexuals (58 percent and 39 percent, respectively), and when sexual minorities experienced the harassment, they were equally likely to experience it directed at them as in an ambient form (53 percent and 47 percent, respectively) ( Silverschanz et al. 2008 ).

Characteristics of Sexually Harassing Environments

By far, the greatest predictors of the occurrence of sexual harassment are organizational. Individual-level factors (e.g., sexist attitudes, beliefs that rationalize or justify harassment, etc.) that might make someone decide to harass a work colleague, student, or peer are surely important. However, a person that has proclivities for sexual harassment will have those behaviors greatly inhibited when exposed to role models who behave in a professional way as compared with role models who behave in a harassing way, or when in an environment that does not support harassing behaviors and/or has strong consequences for these behaviors. Thus, this section considers some of the organizational and environmental variables that increase the risk of sexual harassment perpetration.

Women working in environments where men outnumber women, leadership is male-dominated, and/or jobs or occupations are considered atypical for women experience more frequent incidents of sexual harassment ( USMSPB 1995 ; Fitzgerald et al. 1997 ; Berdahl 2007b ; Willness, Steel, and Lee 2007 ; Schneider, Pryor, and Fitzgerald 2011 ). In particular, the more male-dominated the work environment, the more women experience the gender harassment form of sexual harassment. For example, in one study looking at the effect of workplace gender balance, the researchers analyzed data from women employees of the federal courts. When comparing women who work in gender-balanced workgroups (i.e., equal numbers of men and women in the workgroup) with those who work with almost all men, the researchers reported women in the latter category were 1.68 times more likely to encounter gender harassment ( Kabat-Farr and Cortina 2014 ).

The historical and cultural context of a work or education environment is of high relevance to the study of sexual harassment as well, since environments that are no longer male dominated in gender ratio may still be male dominated in their work practices, culture, or behavioral expectations.

The perceived absence of organizational sanctions increases the risk of sexual harassment perpetration. Perceptions of organizational tolerance for sexual harassment (also referred to as organizational climate for sexual harassment), are broken down into three categories: (1) the perceived risk to targets for complaining, (2) a perceived lack of sanctions against offenders, and (3) the perception that one's complaints will not be taken seriously ( Hulin, Fitzgerald, and Drasgow 1996 ). Research has shown that perceptions of an organization's tolerance for all three forms of sexually harassing behavior are significantly related to both direct and ambient sexual harassment. In environments that are perceived as more tolerant or permissive of sexual harassment, women are more likely to be directly harassed ( Fitzgerald et al. 1997 ; Williams, Fitzgerald, and Drasgow 1999 ) and to witness harassment of others ( Glomb et al. 1997 ). In fact, one meta-analysis that combined data from 41 studies with a total sample size of nearly 70,000 respondents found perception of organizational tolerance to be the most potent predictor of sexual harassment in work organizations ( Willness, Steel, and Lee 2007 ). In a recent national survey of 615 working men ( Patel, Griggs, and Miller 2017 ), sexually harassing behavior was more commonly reported “among men who say their company does not have guidelines against harassment, hotlines to report it or punishment for perpetrators, or who say their managers don't care.”

Social situations in which sexist views and sexually harassing behavior are modeled can enable, facilitate, or even encourage sexually harassing behaviors, while, conversely, positive role models can inhibit sexually harassing behavior ( Dekker and Barling 1998 ; Perry, Schmidtke, and Kulik 1998 ; Pryor, LaVite, and Stoller 1993 ). In one study, college men who had professed a willingness to sexually coerce were found to be more likely to sexually exploit a female trainee when they were exposed to an authority figure who acted in a sexually exploitive way ( Pryor, LaVite, and Stoller 1993 ). Hitlan and colleagues (2009) found that viewing a sexist film enhanced the tendency among the less sexist men to perform acts of gender harassment. In another experiment, men who viewed sexist TV clips were more likely to send women unsolicited sexist jokes and more likely to profess a willingness to engage in sexual coercion than men who watched programs portraying young, successful women in domains such as science, culture, and business ( Maass, Cadinu, and Galdi 2013 ). Conversely, experiments show that sexual harassment is less likely to occur if those behaviors are not accepted by authority figures ( Pryor, LaVite, and Stoller 1993 ). So, while social situations do not necessarily function as triggers for existing predilections to sexually harass, they can act as a force encouraging or discouraging men to sexually harass, demonstrating the power of practiced social norms (e.g., the social norms communicated by the actions of the people in an environment rather than their words or the words from official policy for an organization).

Other factors that research suggests increase the chances of sexual harassment perpetration are significant power differentials within hierarchical organizations and organizational tolerance of alcohol use. Hierarchical work environments like the military, where there is a large power differential between organizational levels and an expectation is not to question those higher up, tend to have higher rates of sexual harassment than organizations that have less power differential between the organizational levels, like the private sector and government ( Ilies et al. 2003 ; Schneider, Pryor, and Fitzgerald 2011 ). Environments that allow drinking during work breaks and have permissive norms related to drinking are positively associated with higher levels of gender harassment of women ( Bacharach, Bamberger, and McKinney 2007 ). Culturally, these are, again, patterns more common in currently or historically male-dominated workplaces.

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS

Sexual harassment is a form of discrimination that consists of three types of harassing behavior: (1) gender harassment (verbal and nonverbal behaviors that convey hostility, objectification, exclusion, or second-class status about members of one gender); (2) unwanted sexual attention (unwelcome verbal or physical sexual advances, which can include assault); and (3) sexual coercion (when favorable professional or educational treatment is conditioned on sexual activity). The distinctions between the types of harassment are important, particularly because many people do not realize that gender harassment is a form of sexual harassment.

Sexually harassing behavior can be either direct (targeted at an individual) or ambient (a general level of sexual harassment in an environment) and is harmful in both cases. It is considered illegal when it creates a hostile environment (gender harassment or unwanted sexual attention that is “severe or pervasive” enough to alter the conditions of employment, interfere with one's work performance, or impede one's ability to get an education) or when it is quid pro quo sexual harassment (when favorable professional or educational treatment is conditioned on sexual activity).

There are reliable scientific methods for determining the prevalence of sexual harassment. To measure the incidence of sexual harassment, surveys should follow the best practices that have emerged from the science of sexual harassment. This includes use of the Sexual Experiences Questionnaire, the most widely used and well-validated instrument available for measuring sexual harassment; assessment of specific behaviors without requiring the respondent to label the behaviors “sexual harassment”; focus on first-hand experience or observation of behavior (rather than rumor or hearsay); and focus on the recent past (1–2 years, to avoid problems of memory decay). Relying on the number of official reports of sexual harassment made to an organization is not an accurate method for determining the prevalence.

Some surveys underreport the incidence of sexual harassment because they have not followed standard and valid practices for survey research and sexual harassment research.

While properly conducted surveys are the best methods for estimating the prevalence of sexual harassment, other salient aspects of sexual harassment and its consequences can be examined using other research methods , such as behavioral laboratory experiments, interviews, case studies, ethnographies, and legal research. Such studies can provide information about the presence and nature of sexually harassing behavior in an organization, how it develops and continues (and influences the organizational climate), and how it attenuates or amplifies outcomes from sexual harassment.

Sexual harassment remains a persistent problem in the workplace at large. Across workplaces, five common characteristics emerge:

Women experience sexual harassment more often than men do.

Gender harassment (e.g., behaviors that communicate that women do not belong or do not merit respect) is by far the most common type of sexual harassment. When an environment is pervaded by gender harassment, unwanted sexual attention and sexual coercion become more likely to occur—in part because unwanted sexual attention and sexual coercion are almost never experienced by women without simultaneously experiencing gender harassment.

Men are more likely than women to commit sexual harassment.

Coworkers and peers more often commit sexual harassment than do superiors.

Sexually harassing behaviors are not typically isolated incidents; rather, they are a series or pattern of sometimes escalating incidents and behaviors.

Research that does not include the study of women of color and sexual- and gender-minority women presents an incomplete picture of women's experiences of sexual harassment. The preliminary research on the experiences of women of color, and sexual- and gender-minority women reveals that their experiences of sexual harassment can differ from the larger population of cisgender, straight, white women.

Women of color experience more harassment (sexual, racial/ethnic, or combination of the two) than white women, white men, and men of color do. Women of color often experience sexual harassment that includes racial harassment.

Sexual- and gender-minority people experience more sexual harassment than heterosexual women do.

The two characteristics of environments most associated with higher rates of sexual harassment are (a) male-dominated gender ratios and leadership and (b) an organizational climate that communicates tolerance of sexual harassment (e.g., leadership that fails to take complaints seriously, fails to sanction perpetrators, or fails to protect complainants from retaliation).

Organizational climate is, by far, the greatest predictor of the occurrence of sexual harassment, and ameliorating it can prevent people from sexually harassing others. A person more likely to engage in harassing behaviors is significantly less likely to do so in an environment that does not support harassing behaviors and/or has strong, clear, transparent consequences for these behaviors.

Barnes v. Costle , 561 F.2d 983, 987 (D.C. Cir. 1977).

Williams v. Saxbe , 413 F. Supp. 654 D.D.C. (1976).

Bundy v. Jackson , 641 F.2d 934 (D.C. Cir. 1981).

Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson , 477 U.S. 57 (1986).

The empirical record on sexual harassment goes back over 30 years, and important studies were conducted in that first decade. Members of this committee thought carefully about whether to cite “older” articles (e.g., from the 1980s). We opted to retain those references when, in our expert opinion, their methods were rigorous and their conclusions would still apply in today's world.

Nonprobability samples are samples that are not representative of the whole population and are often used when a defined population is not possible to specify or when it is not necessary to have a representative dataset to achieve the goals of the research. These samples can include convenience samples and snowball samples.

The 1980 survey used 6 forms of “unwanted, uninvited sexual harassment,” the 1987 survey used 7 (adding rape and sexual assault), the 1994 survey used 8 (adding rape and stalking), and the 2016 survey used 12 forms (adding gender harassment types). The original six categories remained consistent throughout the years.

After the 2012 survey, the military asked the RAND Corporation to conduct a new survey revising the methodology as needed. The result was a significant change in how sexual harassment was defined in the analysis, and thus the prevalence numbers cannot easily be compared with the previous series of surveys. Whereas previous surveys assessed the prevalence of sexually harassing behaviors, the RAND survey used behavior-based questions to determine the prevalence rate of legally defined sexual harassment, meaning that they asked questions and grouped results based on hostile work environment and quid pro quo harassment. While quid pro quo harassment maps cleanly to sexual coercion, hostile work environment requires the condition that the sexually harassing behaviors (such as gender harassment and unwanted sexual attention) be considered by the respondent to be pervasive or severe—essentially requiring a frequency or severity assessment that had not been previously used. With this much narrower definition of “what counts” as harassing behavior, the 2016 survey yielded a lower overall rate of sexual harassment for women over a 12-month time period: 21.4 percent ( RAND 2016 ).

See, for example, https://www .nytimes.com /2017/10/05/us/harvey-weinstein-harassment-allegations .html?rref=collection %2Fbyline %2Fjodi-kantor ; https://www .nytimes.com /2017/10/10/us/gwyneth-paltrow-angelina-jolie-harvey-weinstein .html?rref=collection %2Fbyline%2Fjodi-kantor&action =click&contentCollection =undefined&region =stream&module =stream_unit&version =latest&contentPlacement =10&pgtype=collection ; https://www .buzzfeed .com/azeenghorayshi/geoff-marcy-at-sfsu?utm_term= .phP5anr0n#.kprpq6Gj6 ; https://www .buzzfeed .com/azeenghorayshi/ott-harassment-investigation?utm_term= .vi3ByvlNv#.wm83947r4 ; and https://www .reuters.com /article/us-foxnews-lawsuit /ex-fox-news-anchor-accuses-former-boss-ailes-of-sexual-harassment-idUSKCN0ZM21I .

One obvious factor that contributes to this difference is that there are most often more coworkers or peers than there are superiors.

This research was commissioned by the committee and the full report on this research is available in Appendix C .

Cite this Page National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Policy and Global Affairs; Committee on Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine; Committee on the Impacts of Sexual Harassment in Academia; Benya FF, Widnall SE, Johnson PA, editors. Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2018 Jun 12. 2, Sexual Harassment Research.
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Sexual Harassment in a Workplace

How it works

0.1 Introduction
1.1 Hostile Environment Sexual Harassment
1.2 Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment
1.3 Third-party Sexual Harassment
1.4 Causes of Sexual Harassment
1.5 Lack of Confidence
1.6 Fear and power
1.7 Socialization
1.8 Immaturity and Desire to Please
1.9 Lack of Company Policies
1.10 Poor of Complaints Channels
2 Impacts of Sexual Harassment
3.1 Physical and Emotional Health
3.2 Decreased Work Performance
4.1 Lost productivity
4.2 Higher Indirect Expenses and Turnover Rate
5.1 Loss of Trust
5.2 Reputation
6.1 Personal Responsibilities
6.2 Organizational Responsibilities
6.3 Conclusion
6.4 References

Introduction

According to human rights, sexual harassment is unexpected sexual behavior which could possibly make an individual feel intimidated, humiliated or offended. It can be written, verbal or physical. Workers across the world face this kind of an issue. Many argue that sexual harassment only happens but this perception is wrong, a survey that was conducted shows that 21% of the males were reported to have undergone sexual harassment in the workplace. The frequency of such occurrence ranges from 35 percent by available local studies (Cantor et al, 2015).

Sexual harassment is rapidly becoming a major issue in various institutions and organizations. If the proper mechanism to curb this harassment will not be put in place, it will eventually bring negative effects to the institution or the organization such as absent from work, decrease on job satisfaction and lower workers confidence to the organization (Armstrong & Jovanovich, 2015).

Types of Sexual Harassment

Hostile environment sexual harassment.

This type of sexual harassment happens in a workplace when a supervisor or co-worker makes comments or sexual advances to a worker, while not affecting the future of the worker’s job or not affecting promotions. It makes the employee working environment hostile and offensive. These comments tend to cause some effects to the employee’s ability to discharge her duties effectively.

Examples of this type of sexual harassment include personal questions that are sexual in nature, offensive languages, offensive pictures or any kind of sexually explicit, and that physical conduct that is sexual in nature. Both the offender and the employer can face disciplinary measures in a situation where the employer is aware of the harassment yet not taking any appropriate action to prevent it.

Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment

This type of harassment is characterized by harassers who tend to insist on sexual favors in exchange for various benefits or in exchange for certain benefits because of their seniority in an organization. These benefits include getting and keeping job promotions, projects as well as recommendations. These harassers will always pretend to be mentoring and helping but with sexual intentions. A very good example which is very common in an organization is seen when a senior employee harasses the junior.

Third-party Sexual Harassment

This type of sexual harassment happens or is committed by outsiders and not another employee. This normally happens in a hostile environment. In a situation where employee complaint about harassment from the client, immediate action should be taken by the organization to restore sanity. Another employee may replace the complainant as a way of ending the relationship with the outsider.

Causes of Sexual Harassment

There exist several causes of sexual harassment in an institution or the organization. These include having the same interest, a close relationship at work, employees depending on each other teamwork, and the personal problem which one of the employees might be undergoing through. Harassment again may occur mostly in a blue-collar environment where women work as manual laborers as well as a cellular environment where perform work is carried out in an office

Sexual harassment may affect the victim academically, professionally, socially and financially. Organizations or institutions may suffer from absenteeism, low productivity, the legal cost in a case where the matter becomes a court case. It can also result in a loss of staff. It is therefore important to understand the different causes of sexual harassment in a workplace set up.

Lack of Confidence

Sexual harassment in the workplace is comparatively a new concern mostly in Asian countries. Research shows that advocating against sexual harassment in Asia may not be easy, victims are reluctant to report the harassers to the authorities or make a complaint about them because they be possibly shy, fearful of retaliation, ashamed or may not know exactly what to do about it. Also, victims may not even understand what Is actually happening to them in sexual harassment due to the fact that, it is part of working life.

Fear and power

Fear and power have become the most cause of sexual harassment to the employees of an organization. For example, a boss or male senior employee requires to have sex with his junior employee. This act has contributed to creating fear among the victim due to fear of losing a job if she refuses to accept the demands of her boss. The victim might at the same time fear her reputation being affected if the incident spread to the public domain.

The fear of the possibility of losing employment or being treated unfairly can cause some people to agree and not handle the situation in a way that will suit own interest. The victim may not have any other alternative but to continue with the relationship out of fear of retaliation. Harassers may continue to take advantage of those individuals who are not used to speaking up for themselves since they have learned to put other peoples interested and needs over and more so above their personal interest and needs (Berrey & Nelson & Nielsen, 2017).

Socialization

Socialization is one of the major causes of sexual harassment. According to some claims, people brought up together will most likely to affect their behavior. From this claim, an example of women’s dress is given which will possibly cause sexual harassment. In addition, this kind of dressing up sexily may invite different impressions from other colleagues for sexual favors at the workplace

Immaturity and Desire to Please

Young individuals fall at this category and they are frequently targeted by mature individuals due their ability or desire to please and their immaturity. The root cause of this behavior is as a result of young individuals lacking a supportive network and lack of self-esteem. Such individuals will continue to draw their support through maintaining, supporting and nurturing a relationship with others.

Association of American Medical Colleges. (2016) many victims end up falling in love with their harasser as a result of void and loneliness they have experience in their life. For those involved, accepting the small amount of money and a simple dinner date from their seniors or bosses could possibly end up being a painful and messy situation. What normally makes sexual harassment destructive and unfair is Preying on those who are an insubordinate position or weak.

Lack of Company Policies

Many organizations and companies which lack policies to curb sexual harassment are a contributing factor to the continuous sexual harassment. A number of organizations and companies do not have disciplinary measure, clear policies and more importantly the procedure of dealing with the culprits or the harassers. Also, within the company, they may be lack of proper investigative measures to do a proper investigation, psychological and stress guidance, and counseling. In view of this, there exist many people who have no idea of the seriousness and penalty of sexual harassment (Banerjee & Pawley 2013).

Poor of Complaints Channels

In many organizations and companies, many victims face distressing constraints to make any formal report about sexual harassment because they may be no proper and established procedures and steps which may possibly guide them in reporting to the appropriate office or authorities. Some even have no idea of various practices which could help them. Very few employers at the project level, have ever given or provided grievances or complaints procedure for reporting such cases of sexual harassment (Buckner et al, 2014).

Many organizations or companies to set up an office and employ people who are in charge of sexual harassment. They event do not provide email or hotline to complain to. As long as there is no existence of such office or people concern, no one will eve take sexual harassment seriously. A policy is useless as long as people do not use it, and most research shows that a very small fraction or a number of employees ever act or say anything about sexual harassing behavior (Berrey, 2015).

Impacts of Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment within the workplace set up is a health problem and employment-related safety. In a situation where such harassment is not reported, the workplace becomes offensive, hostile and intimidating hence negatively affecting industrial relation climate. Those employers who condone or even ignore sexual harassment in a this given establishment may be subjected to a legal action angry worker who have suffered sexual harassment.

Impacts on Personnel

Physical and emotional health.

Sexual harassment has got a serious effect and negative impact on the victim’s emotional and physical health. The reaction may be severe if the harassment is severe as well. The reactions which victims frequently report include depression, anxiety, weight loss, sleep disturbance, headaches and loss of appetite. Such effects can happen to a victim either at work or before going to work. The victim with time will develop a problem such as sexual dysfunctions and problems related to intimacy (Dipboye & Colella, 2013).

Decreased Work Performance

Many victims who have been found to have engaged in this type of behavior have felt that they had no other options in that situation. The main driving force was the need to keep the job and they felt that had they decline the advances, they could have possibly lost the job or face rejections at work. These, therefore, explain the reason behind giving in to the unsolicited advances. At work, the victim may not be free enough to deliver appropriate services hence decrease work performance, showing up late in order to avoid the harasser and defamation of reputation and character.

Impacts on Organization

Lost productivity.

Individuals who fall victims of sexual harassment may not be able to discharge their duties and factions at the usual productivity level. If the harassers are successful in favoring certain individuals while blocking victims, the organization or company loses because the best candidate to fill technical positions may not get the opportunity to serve. Also, dealing with harassment cases may lead to time wastage and it can take away managers time which could have been used in completing the important task to the company. The principles of any workplace set up require positive interaction, cooperation, and teamwork which might not be possible in a hostile work environment. The company’s productivity will in turn suffer (Wood et al, 2017).

Higher Indirect Expenses and Turnover Rate

Company’s Employers may possibly incur various expenses as a result of health benefits, legal expenses and monetary damages awarded to the victim if the case is taken to the court, and finally sick leave. In some situations, female may choose to resign from work rather than fighting to endure hard and offensive working conditions. The company may be forced to advertise for the vacant positions left by those who resign and eventually incur training cost for the new employee. During all these processes, the company will continue to lose production.

Impacts on Social Community

Loss of trust.

Loss of trust in where the company is located and its surrounding environment as a result of sexual harassment. This may extend to the type of people occupying similar positions with harassers. Any disclosure of the victim and harassers may lead to extreme stress and can lead to loss of friends and colleagues. Friends, family, and colleagues may distance themselves from the said victim. These eventually lead to weakening and poor support network.

In a situation where a victim is sexualized publicly, the reputation will drop abruptly and may be subjected to public scrutiny. This leads to an accusation of a victim of her private life, lifestyle, and the dressing code. The victim may be subjected to humiliation by gossip and scrutiny and defamation of reputation and character.

Ways of Preventing Sexual Harassment

Personal responsibilities.

Everyone in an organization should be conscious of any possibility of engaging in sexual harassment. You should not accept any kind of jokes as well as simple dinner dates which may lead to unexpected sexual influence and that you should stay away from being too close to someone with intentions of sexual favors. Any form of harassment should be reported for appropriate actions to be taken (Banyard , 2015).

Organizational Responsibilities

It is the responsibility of the organization to prevent any sexual harassment that may occur and that workers should be made aware of strict measures for those found harassing others. An organization will benefit a lot of sexual harassment is prevented completely. The benefits include increased productivity, increase employee morale, elimination of potential lawsuit and positive image of the company or the organization in the public domain (Cheung et al, 2017).

Sexual harassment should not be taken lightly in any company. Rules and regulations should be set in order to prevent any potential occurrence of such harassment. Companies which fail to set rules may suffer a lot and eventually collapse because resourceful employees may resign due to hostile environment surrounded by harassers. It is therefore important to make awareness of harassment to anyone in an organization so that no one will resign or suffer due to fear of reporting the matter for solving.

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Sexual Harassment

Social Sciences

Sexual harassment is an unwelcome sexual behavior, which mainly makes the person affected feel offended, intimidated or humiliated. Sexual harassment is verbal, physical or written. The harassment is not always sexual in nature but can also be in the form of remarks or comments. If one makes an offensive comment about women in general, it is considered as harassment. The harasser can be of opposite sex or similar sex. The law does not forbid teasing and flirting, but when it becomes severe and frequent to an extent of creating a hostile working environment for the victim, then it is considered as harassment. The harasser can be a supervisor, co-worker, client, customer or a non-employee (Korgen, Korgen & Giraffe, 2015). Sexual harassment can be directed to both men and women. This paper focuses on sexual harassment directed at women, which are most common cases. Sexual harassment is a social and workplace problem.

A study done by Schneider et al. (1997) revealed that sexual harassment even at low frequency leads to significant negative effects. It influences negatively on the women psychological wellbeing and particularly on the work behaviors and job attitudes. In the study, women who had been sexually harassed reported the worst job-related outcomes as well as psychological outcomes. Those who had not been sexually harassed also reported negative outcomes. This is because they are aware of the situation they are exposed to.

Sexual harassment makes the working environment hostile. A hostile working environment makes an employee uncomfortable. Most people tend to understate the effects of sexual harassment. Sexual harassment can cause serious health issues. It affects the victims well being by interfering with the emotional well-being leading to low self-esteem and compromising personal relationships (Schneider et al., 1997). It can also cause anxiety and stress. The major problem is that in most cases, a senior employee to the victim perpetrates sexual harassment in the workplace. In such a case, the victim has other factors to consider rather than reporting the case. The victim can be fired or even prosecuted given that it is hard to prove sexual harassment. Most of the victims opt to stay quiet leading to emotional and psychological pain.

Emotional health is closely related to physical health. When the victim is emotionally unhealthy, it leads to physical health cases in most of the cases. These include appetite loss, weight fluctuations, headaches and sleep disturbances. When a harassed employee reports a case with no evidence, it can be interpreted as witch-hunt on fellow employees. Non-sexual harassment, for example, is hard to prove in which case a victim can be fired. Being fired adds to the problem of harassment and the victim end up developing a psychological problem.

The documentary “The Invisible War” investigates the sexual harassment in the United States Army. It portrays the kind of problem that exists when a junior employee reports sexual harassment perpetrated by a senior. It is possible that the employee is reporting to the same person who harassed her. In the documentary, most of the victims have developed psychological problems. Some of the women interviewed in the documentary also have serious physical injuries.

Though sexual harassment in the workplace is prohibited, women are still sexually harassed in the workplace. This behavior impacts negatively even on the company or enterprise in that a harassed employee will have a negative attitude towards work. This in turn will lower the employee’s productivity. In addition, most organizations depend on time for efficiency and good results. It will be hard for a sexually harassed employee to engage with other employees due to low self-esteem and fear.

Bowling & Beehr (2006) in their article “Workplace Harassment From the Victim’s Perspective” argue that there are three direct causes of workplace harassment. These include the work environment characteristic, the victim, and the perpetrator. It is possible for the victim to blame both of the other causes of the organization. First, the organization can be responsible for the harassment given that the perpetrator is an employee of the organization. In addition, the culture of the organization can directly or indirectly encourage harassment. Bowling & Beehr (2006) continue to argue that the perpetrators of workplace harassment may be stressed. Being exposed to work stress can lead to the production of negative behavioral and emotional responses that can ultimately lead to victimization. The perpetrators of work-based harassment might be coping with work-based stress. High level of stressors can lead the perpetrators to engage in harassment.

Personal characteristics can help identify a perpetrator of work-based harassment. Research indicates that perpetrators are emotionally reactive, rebellious, cynical and have a low tolerance and hierarchal position. Greenberg and Barling (as cited in Bowling & Beehr, 2006) found that there is a positive correlation between aggression towards supervisors, co-workers, subordinates. When the perpetrators characteristics are partially responsible for the harassment, then the victim can blame either the perpetrator or the organization.

Bowling & Beehr (2006) concluded that the characteristics of the work environment could contribute to harassment. When employees are working in a stressful environment, they may be victims of harassment since the stressors in the workplace produce behaviors that may encourage others to victimize them. It is important for the employer to inspect regularly the working environment to try to recognize any stressors available.

Berdahl, (2007) did a study to test two competing views about sexual harassment. The first view was that sexual harassment is motivated by sexual desires thus directed to women who meet feminine ideals while the other one is that sexual harassment is motivated by the desire to punish women who violate feminine ideals. Berdahl indicates that, originally, sexual harassment was a male boss victimizing a female subordinate. Berdahl concluded that women who violate feminine ideals were most likely to be sexually harassed in the workplace. Women in male-dominated jobs have a high likely hood of being sexually harassed. Sexual harassment is thus a form of sex discrimination that keeps both the sexes unequal and separate.

Sexual harassment positive support using various social controls

Sexual harassment can be prevented by use of various social controls. One major way to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace is by generating and implementing strict organizational policies against the behavior. One major issue that should be addressed is bureaucracy. When an employee is expected to report everything to the immediate boss, she will not report a sexual harassment case to the person who committed it. This is the major reason most of the victims never report harassment. As mentioned earlier, sexual harassment is hard to prove. When an employee reports a sexual harassment case to the senior management, she will automatically be asked to produce evidence. It is hard to determine these cases given that there is no witness. When the victim and the harasser lay down their arguments, it is likely that the case will be dismissed for lack of evidence.

The victim will be humiliated. In extreme cases such as in the documentary mentioned above, the victims are fired with no benefits.

To avoid these cases, organizations should have strict policies that outline the reporting and handling of sexual harassment cases. There should be an independent body or committee to handle sexual harassment cases. This way, the cases will be handled without no prejudice and discrimination. Riger (1991) in a study investigating the dilemma in sexual harassment policies noticed that many women do not report sexual harassment cases. This is because the sexual harassment policies are gender biased, and women are discouraged from using them. Though such policies are drafted in gender-neutral language, they are experienced different due to the gender difference in sexual harassment perception. Sexual harassment inflicts on an individual rights and freedoms protected by the constitution. In my view, the management should not handle sexual harassment cases in the workplace. The cases should be handled by the judicial system. The management might favor any of the involved parties for various reasons, but the judicial system will be independent.

Another way to control sexual harassment is by educating the employees. Sexual harassment is both physical and non-physical. Employees should be fully aware of what entails as sexual harassment as per the organizations policies (Korgen, Korgen & Giraffe, 2015). A frequent simple tease can lead to sexual harassment, and if the employee is already aware of the situation, she can be able to prevent herself early enough.

Women are also argued to encourage sexual harassment. Male employees may interpret female employees dressing wrongly. Organizations should implement a social change where people dress appropriately. In addition, when employees attend corporate functions, they should behave responsibly. Taking of alcohol in such functions should be controlled since it might lead to sexual harassment. The bottom line is that all employees should be responsible and always consider the effects of their actions on other employees. Some women provoke male employees into sexually harassing them knowingly or unknowingly.

Sexual harassment is a social problem in this century. Not only does it happen in the workplaces but other social facilities. It is the responsibility of the employers to maintain a free and comfortable workplace. I would recommend that employers adopt a strict and clear policy about sexual harassment. The policy should elaborate on what sexual harassment entails. The policy should also define in clear terms the procedure to be used when filing for sexual harassment complains. Any sexual harassment complaints should be thoroughly investigated and any wrongdoer punished severely. This will encourage other victims to report (Fitzgerald, Swan & Fischer, 1995). The policy should also emphasize that any retaliation against those who file complaints will not and will never be tolerated.

Employees are different. There are those who will readily file complaints and those who will fear victimization or retaliation. Due to this, I would recommend that the employer monitors the workplace. The employer should periodically talk about the work environment with the employees. The employees should be involved in making decisions that affect their work environment. This way the employer will create a good working relationship with the employees. However, there are cases where the employer perpetrates the sexual harassment. This means the victim cannot report to the same employer (Korgen, Korgen & Giraffe, 2015). In such a case, the Government should specify the procedures to be followed while filing a sexual harassment through the judiciary system. In addition, if any victim feels that the case was not well handled by the employer, she should forward the complain to the judicial system.

A big problem with the sexual harassment is the lack of evidence. Employers should install systems that monitor emails and communications in the workplace and scan for any sexual harassment. Video cameras and sound recorders should be placed in strategic places inside the working premises to be able to monitor any sexual harassment.

Potential social and economic benefits

Preventing and controlling sexual harassment in the workplace can have both social and economic benefits. First, research has proven that sexual harassment can cause psychological problems. If prevented, cases of psychological problems can be minimized. This is a benefit not only to the society but also to the organization. A sexually harassed employee will not be able to concentrate on their work. This, in turn, lowers their productivity. Hard the sexual harassment been prevented, the employee would still be productive. The economy depends largely on the organizations for its growth. When such organizations are performing poorly, the economy, in general, is performing badly. The working environment should be conducive so as to allow all employees be productive.

As Berdahl, (2007) indicates, women in male-dominated jobs have a high likely hood of being sexually harassed. This can keep the women away from such jobs and in turn, render them jobless. The unemployment rate is a major cause of economic failure. When people are unemployed, they do not contribute to the growth of the economy. In addition, when unemployment rates are high social issues such as poverty, homelessness kicks in. This forces the government to spend a lot of money in trying to solve such issues.

Riger (1991) concluded that many women do not report sexual harassment cases due to gender bias in the sexual harassment policies. This means many victims leave with the guilt inside them. Such guilt is very dangerous to those people living close to the victim. The victim can develop psychological problems or become physically violent. Preventing sexual harassment can help the society solve or evade such issues. In addition, for the victims who report the cases, a lot of time is spent investigating the cases. In most cases, the victim and the perpetrator are sent home on compulsory and unpaid leave. This creates financial problems for the victim. Issues like these have been seen to cause other family problems for the married women. All these problems could be prevented if sexual harassment is prevented.

Sexual harassment is a problem in both the society and the workplace. This is because, when it happens to the workplace, the consequences are felt by both the organization and the society. Issues such as loss of employment, unpaid leave, family problems, poverty and psychological problems impact more on the society.

Organizations should have gender-sensitive sexual harassment policies that are easy to follow. Victims will see the employer as partly responsible for their victimization. Thus, the employers should be strict in managing the workplace environment secure and free from sexual harassment victimization. In cases where the victims are afraid to report a claim with the organization management, legal channels through the judiciary system are available for use.

Berdahl, J. L. (2007). The sexual harassment of uppity women. Journal of Applied Psychology , 92 (2), 425.

Bowling, N. A., & Beehr, T. A. (2006). Workplace harassment from the victim’s perspective: a theoretical model and meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology , 91 (5), 998.

Fitzgerald, L. F., Swan, S., & Fischer, K. (1995). Why didn’t she just report him? The psychological and legal implications of women’s responses to sexual harassment. Journal of Social Issues , 51 (1), 117-138.

Korgen, K. O., Korgen, J. O., & Giraffe, V. (2015). Social issues in the workplace (2nd ed.) [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/

Riger, S. (1991). Gender dilemmas in sexual harassment policies and procedures. American Psychologist , 46 (5), 497.

Schneider, K. T., Swan, S., & Fitzgerald, L. F. (1997). Job-related and psychological effects of sexual harassment in the workplace: empirical evidence from two organizations. Journal of Applied Psychology , 82 (3), 401.

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Sexual Harassment and Culture Essay

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Introduction

Sexual harassment in schools, a cultural viewpoint on sexual harassment, sexual harassment and culture, empirical-based research, conclusions.

The contemporary workplace has transformed a great deal compared to a few decades ago. Both diversity and multiculturalism are now more dominant than ever before as occasioned by the impact of globalization. As a result, employers can hardly disregard the cultural-based influences brought about by other workers at the place of work.

Hence, the understanding of sexual harassment can only be vivid when explored in terms of cross-cultural dimensions. Nonetheless, it is imperative to note that the characterization of sexual harassment might be complex since its actual meaning has not been adequately comprehended even within a single culture (Saguy, 2003).

In retrospect, sexual harassment has been a subject of debate for ages especially when elements such as human resource management are brought on board. Furthermore, the debate is not merely concentrated at a local level, it is rather widespread.

The attempt to give meaning to the concept of sexual harassment is further complicated by the fact that the environment that is multicultural in nature is also put into account. There is a lot of controversy surrounding this concept when ideas from myriad of cultures are all considered.

For instance, the understanding of sexual harassment in one culture may be completely different from another one, or even complement each other. What might be a norm in one culture may be a taboo in another and vice versa. Better still; values that are cherished in one culture may totally be repugnant in another one.

On the same note, the way an employer will respond to sexual harassment issues arising at workplace will be dictated by cultural elements. Hence, the process of demonstrating the impacts of visualizing sexual harassment based on cultural ideals requires shrewd consideration of certain implicit factors. For example, both workers and managers should be educated on the relevance of cultural diversity.

Besides, cultural psychology should be made use especially when handling court cases that are addressing disputes emanating from sexual harassment and finally, due consideration should be made on standards and policies that are being used on different personalities, bearing in mind their cultural values. This paper explores the intrigues of sexual harassment and cultural diversity and the debate surrounding the concept.

Sexual harassment can also prevail in educational institutions. The amendment of the Hong Kong’s Sex Discrimination Ordinance (SDO) law that was adopted on 3 rd October 2008 witnessed the incorporation of educational settings as one of the areas where sexual harassment offense can take place (the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, 2009).

According to the amendment, sexual harassment in educational institutions entails the creation of an antagonistic and threatening learning environment. The new law further specifies that the leadership of schools has the responsibility of making sure that students and the rest of the school community are co-exist in a school environment that is free of any form of sexual harassment.

These guidelines have also been emphasized by the Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC) reiterating that schools should take pragmatic measures in providing a favourable atmosphere suitable for learning. According to the commission, this can be achieved by developing work contracts for employees as well as discipline code of conduct for students in written form.

The schools should ensure that the stated rules and regulations are stated to the letter. Besides, all complaints arising from sexual harassment cases should be dealt with decisively by the school administration.

As a business hub in the world, Hong Kong is an important centre for conducting international business. Most of the inhabitants of the country are people of Chinese origin. The tourist flow in and out of Hong Kong is relatively impressive throughout the twelve calendar months, qualifying the nation as an equal opportunity employer in Asia.

In spite of the Chinese dominance, the cultural values and practices of Hong Kong people are distinct from the Chinese ones. The Hong Kong constitution and other by-laws are largely influenced affected by the legislation derived from its former colonizer, Britain as well as what is referred to as common law.

The Sex Discrimination Ordinance (SDO) piece of legislation describes the sexual harassment law with respect to Hong Kong culture (Adler & Towne, 2003). According to SDO, sexual harassment of whatever nature has been made a tort. Hence, whoever feels that he or she has been injured by a given act of sexual harassment is allowed to sue the offender.

The Hong Kong law on sexual harassment is perhaps one of the perfect examples of legislations in the world that do not only embody cultural diversity, but also applies the existing laws to the latter.

However, there are still open loopholes in the implementation of the sexual harassment Act since the judiciary has been reported several times to be lax and have not proved themselves to be tantamount to the uphill task of effecting the legislation to the latter (Luo, 1996).

Worse still, this piece of legislation may not be putting into consideration other diverse cultures and how they perceive sexual harassment. The legislation seems to dwell so much on the sexual injustices meted on a female person by a male offender. It is however vital to note that modern day sexual harassment offences may originate from either gender contrary to the popular belief by most conventional literatures.

The Hong Kong legislation also specifies that all acts of sexual harassment are illegal not just at workplace but also in other areas. This is good enough for the country since the harassment offence is broad and several categories through which the crime can be conducted have been addressed. Nonetheless, we are yet to find clauses within the legislation that offer relevance to culture.

As mentioned earlier, the SDO Act has myriad of attributes as far as the protection of sexual dignity of individuals is concerned. Nevertheless, in spite of the far-reaching description of sexual harassment as contained in the document, the law fails to cover certain areas of interest. It is imperative to note that SDO mainly concentrates on sexual harassment outcomes emanating only from specified areas such as employment or at workplace (Dank & Refinetti, 1998).

Hence, some areas where sexual harassment cases can arise are not catered for. This is a serious omission in view of the fact that even before the concept of sexual harassment could be visualised; it already existed in the fragile culture. Unfortunately, the society and governments in particular seem to contemplate sexual harassment only on the basis institutions, ignoring the grim reality that family units in well established marriages also encounter the ordeal though in varying degrees.

Furthermore, women are wholly protected by SDO and not their counterpart males. Therefore, the Hong Kong legislation does not cover sexual harassment cases emanating from same sex. This may be quite tricky owing to the fact that same sex relationships have never been societal norms across the globe although such unique affairs are increasingly taking shape in the contemporary society.

In some cultures, it is definitely unacceptable to discuss same sex affairs. A mention of lesbianism or gay relationships is strictly a taboo and perhaps this is the reason why the SDO Act is not touching on it. Nonetheless, throwing a blind eye on same sex sexual harassment cases is not helpful either.

The bare reality is that the society has undergone through a series of dynamic transformations and as a result, new and perhaps strange forms of sexual encounters are on board. Failure to address the need and concerns of same sex affairs is unwarranted since they too are part and parcel of the society.

The third shortcoming of the Hong Kong legislation lies on the verity that the burden of proof that the plaintiff is supposed to shoulder is extremely heavy. According to the court, only an objective test is applied to ascertain the truth by the claimant on sexual harassment. This test is not straightforward and may complicate the process of seeking justice.

There are multiple claims that have been thrown away due to the problematic nature of this test method (Kennedy & Gorzalka, 2002). For instance, how can the courts rule out that a given complainant was highly responsive to physical touch and so that cannot account to sexual harassment?

Or how do we justify that the claimant failed to resist sexual harassment? These are just some of the concerns on the weakness portrayed in the SDO Act that need to be amended if justice will finally be meted on the victims. It is unimaginable to see how the very judiciary entrusted with the onerous role of discharging justice failing with impunity to play their part.

Moreover, judges presiding over sexual harassment cases under the SDO legislation may sometimes dismiss some of the complaints presented to them arguing that the female might have flaunted herself to an extent of being sexually harassed (Saguy, 2003). In some cases, the complainant is said to have reached a consensus at an earlier date with the wrongdoer and therefore any allegation of sexual harassment may be ill directed.

There are also instances when the courts will argue that the claimant delayed to report the incidence. All the aforementioned bases used by judges to ignore cases presented to them are serious loopholes in the Hong Kong legislation. It is quite ambiguous for the existing laws on sexual harassment to fail in terms of clarity.

Although it may be quite cumbersome to undertake reforms in the anti sexual harassment laws or better still changing the deeply rooted attitude of offenders, there are quite a number of modalities that can be instituted in place to assist in the process of rightful interpretation and application of the law.

The challenge of sexual harassment in relation to culture is enormous. In spite of this, the Asian countries and the world at large are yet to embark on a holistic perspective in resolving the challenge. It is not just enough to declare the illegality of sexual harassment; there are myriad of issues surrounding the offence and which require a thoughtful approach.

In addition, decisions endorsed by the judiciary in regard to compensating the claimants are still not sufficient in curbing this growing societal challenge. Similarly, situations whereby complaints committees are formed to penalize offenders cannot curb this growing heinous act.

The war against sexual harassment will only be won if all stakeholders are involved. We need the entire society, not just to participate but be proactive in shielding all the possible avenues of this demeaning practice (Lee, 2001).

One likely explanation why the Hong Kong law on sexual harassment is not comprehensive in spite of its highly esteemed and elevated status is that the cultural view point and its significance on controlling the offence has not been factored in the current campaign against the act.

We need the active and concerted effort from religious reformers, politicians and social scientists. The broad agenda should be to change the mindset of offenders rather than relying on the problematic legal process. However, this does not imply that the courts are done away with in this matter. The legislations enacted to curtail the activities of harassers should by far and large, considerate of the diverse cultures.

The media is yet another powerful tool that can be used dispatch the right messages as part of changing the mentality of potential and upcoming offenders (Parish, Das & Laumann, 2006). There is also the delicate balance in terms of gender equity and presentation in various commissions, equal opportunity commissions, committees that deal with complaints as well as the judiciary.

No single country can adequately deal with incidents of sexual harassment without encompassing the effort from both genders. It is a common experience of males dominating most of these bodies formed to oversee sexual harassment. This is erroneous and it is also the likely point where the society diverted or lost track in the fight against sexual harassment.

Women should equal players. The Sexual Harassment of Women Bill in India provides that the complaints committee dealing with sexual harassment should be headed by a female and 50% of its membership should also be made up of women (Berryman-Fink, 1997). This is a remarkable step that ensures comprehensiveness in incorporating culture and gender in solving the problem.

The Hong case is also limited by the fact that the coverage of the legislation has a narrow scope in the sense that it addresses only a few situations the offence is perpetrated. It is worth noting that sexual harassment is multi-faceted and cannot be approached from a single viewpoint.

Before the final verdict can be reached by the courts, thorough investigation using variety of tests is necessary. There are conspicuous uneasiness in proving an incidence of sexual harassment according to the current Hong Kong legislation. The theory that the courts are left to prove each case as objectively as possible is not welcome.

This is in fact the major setback when following up cases related to sexual harassment. A better alternative to this fiasco will be to leave the claimant to shoulder the burden of proof just like other ordinary cases. The innocence of the wrongdoer should only be proved by the offender and not the courts.

Further still, the Hong Kong courts do not award adequate damages to the complainant. This implies that the wrongdoer does not feel the pinching impacted of undergoing conviction and as a result, such light penalties may not deter the offender from committing the crime again. Unfortunately, the Hong Kong judges have never stuck to the letter on the direction given by anti sexual harassment legislation to advance exemplary damages.

For example, much of what is awarded as damages in Hong Kong is not commensurate with the per capita income of the area which is quite high. A case look at United States reveals that when sexual harassment disputes are settled out of the court, an average sum of 300,000 US dollars is awarded to the victim. This is a lot fair and sincerely speaking, the economic culture of the region has been put into consideration before compensating the claimant.

There are some other working environments that do not culturally make use of working contracts that encompass sexual harassment clause. This is due to either the ignorance of the fact that such harassment is not commonplace or employers and managers are pre-occupied with maximizing returns for their companies at the expense of employee welfare (Canary & Spitzberg, 1987).

Restraining sexual harassment at workplace will demand the institution of employment contracts that clearly stipulates terms and conditions of working. One of the most important elements of this agreement should be the termination of employment after due investigation of a sexual harassment case surrounding the concerned individual. Such a step will have deterrent effect on the wrongdoer.

Victims who have undergone sexual harassment may develop psychological problems either at a personal or family level. Dealing with such an aftermath requires proper integration of culture. A near perfect way is the use of women organisations with counselling experts to offer guidance and counselling to the affected persons.

Culturally, women are generally known to offer the best consolation compared to men. Indeed, when this natural ability is integrated with expertise knowledge, the process of recovery can really be hastened.

The patriarchal norms of the society need to be reformed. There are certain standards that have run deep into the societal fabric. Unfortunately, some these norms and standards are not beneficial while they have been adopted as part and parcel of the acceptable culture. In order to uproot what is not desired, women groups are well placed to act proactively in derailing the misleading norms.

In any case, there are countless instances of sexual harassment that are primarily caused by our own deteriorating norms. Women are also the best agents in championing the much needed change since they are also the group that is culturally susceptible to this form of abuse. Hence, all stakeholders involved the fight against the growing sexual harassment against women should understand that respecting, honouring and dignifying women is the highest duty.

Both intensive and extensive investigations have been carried out on differences in gender in regard to sexual harassment as compared to cultural differences. Limited research studies have been conducted in this area in spite of the potential effect of culture on sexual harassment.

At this juncture, it is paramount to distinguish between the component that deals with understanding culture and a hostile environment that has been subjected to an environment that is not conducive. Hence, the definition of a subjective standard for an environment that is considered hostile is necessary.

Before concluding on any particular judgment on sexual harassment it is imperative to bear in mind the cultural differences which may have influenced the wrongdoer in committing the offence. The explanation for this is simple and straightforward; the world today has become more globalised than before and the thought of hiring employees definitely brings in the issue of cultural diversity.

In any one particular workplace, it is highly likely that employees will be made up of people from diverse backgrounds, subscribing unique values and standards. Therefore, diversity in culture is a phenomenon that managers and employers have to wrestle with from time to time. It is also interesting to note that all individuals have a strong personal appeal for their own original cultures.

The very individuals who are also in working capacity can also identify quite well what is meant by a hostile working environment in as far as sexual abuse in concerned. Indeed, they can do this better than their fellow workers who are residents in a particular country simply due to the unfamiliar environment they are in.

To this end, there are limited studies that only report on cases of sexual harassment that are not yet proved. This is a common feature of United States. Although we can take such studies seriously and use them for further valuation, it is still not adequate to rely on the data obtained from one country like US for a well thought out empirical study (Clair, 1993).

Notwithstanding these evident weaknesses, both the existing data that is also readily available that attempt to compare various cultures within their original locations can be used as an eye opener in understanding how differences in culture and sexual harassment compare and contrast.

There are countries that are patriarchal in nature whereby not many women are employed in occupations dominated by males. In such countries, conducting research study on sexual harassment is not accepted since it can endanger the career of respondents (Lott, Reilly & Howard, 2002). Even in the event that we have to generalize on some ideas due to lack of sufficient data, it is still not easy; the process is quite cumbersome.

Brazil, a South American country, is well endowed both politically and economically. By 1988, the country had already enshrined gender equality in its constitutional document. Another law enacted in 1991 illegalised all forms of sexual harassment (Adler & Towne, 2003). It is interesting to learn that recent research surveys conducted in the North and South American college students revealed quite an astounding disparity.

The cross-cultural research concluded that the Brazilian concept of sexual harassment is unique compared to North American definition in spite of the fact that no difference exist between the students in the north and south.

From the study, it was evident that students originating from German, Australia and most countries in North America were highly likely to link sexual harassment with discriminating against gender, abuse of power as well as other harmful societal practices. According to these students, the aforementioned factors are the likely causes of sexual harassment.

On the contrary, college students from Brazil were highly likely to comprehend or link sexual harassment to demanding for sex without mutual consent from both partners or seeking romance from unwilling partner. There was nothing to do with power abuse or gender inequity at all in their perception.

The study of sexual harassment cases is done in a different way in Europe compared to countries in South America. As a result, it becomes quite difficult to draw vivid comparisons. Nevertheless, there are noticeable similarities with those results obtained from US. Incidences in northern European countries are reported more than those in the south.

This can be explained from the fact incidences of sexual harassment are more pronounced in the north than the south (Dodd, 1998). In spite of such brilliant reporting, the society should develop a culture of even reporting whether such cases are prevalent or not. By so doing, the immediate community will be adequately educated and be made aware of this societal ill-act.

In the southern European countries, researchers have unanimously concluded that the tradition of the church as well as family values have been found to shape behavioural patterns of the society. Hence, the southerner’s culture is heavily shaped by the two factors.

The case of Russia is rather unique. The laws of the country regarding sexual harassment are rather dormant and hardly enforced. In some cases, the legal process of apprehending offenders is not followed at all. Thus, a culture of ignorance has been cultivated for long leading to both poor reporting of the same as well as lack of concern and compensation for complainants.

The Russian women have had to bear the brunt of this don’t-care attitude. Additionally, the Europeans tend to conceptualize sexual harassment in variety of ways even in those regions which average almost the same in terms of responding to the offence. The doctrines of ordered liberty and cultural defence

In all the cases examined above, it is evident that variance in culture plays a significant role in either reporting or dealing with incidences of sexual harassment.

In most researches carried out, communication breakdown has been cited as a serious loophole in an attempt to deal conclusively with this form of crime (Landy & Conte, 2010). Further, the distortion of information by either the complainant or perpetrator of the crime is a major setback. These are also values that are socially and culturally derived.

Policy makers and law enforcers alike should come to the understanding that in order to address the missing link in trying the perpetrators of sexual harassment, language which is part and parcel of culture is significant. For instance, an utterance in one language translated in another language might transform into a verbal sexual harassment and therefore influence the final outcome of the case.

Different ethnic groups have their own way of understanding, interpreting or even evaluating verbal cues. An interesting example is that derived from the Malaysian community. This group perceive a touch on another person’s shoulder to be tantamount to sexual harassment.

The same action might imply nothing close to harassment in other cultures such as the American society. This is the point where law enforcers handling multi-ethnic cases should not only be keen non cultural differences but also critically evaluate each sexual harassment incidence brought to them before giving their final verdict.

Moreover, cultural sensitivity across the wide ethnic divide cannot be ignored. A case study of the Caucasian community reveals that commenting that someone appears sexy is sexual harassment. The spread of globalisation will occasion more sensitivity in the manner in which multicultural issues such as sexual harassment are handled.

There are myriad of socio-economic and political issues that must have been addressed with cultural perspective in mind. The swelling number of immigrants across the globe should indeed be a wakeup call for governments and in particular the legal fraternity to prepare in handling multi-cultural issues that are embedded from diverse backgrounds.

In fact, the concept of sexual harassment is in itself facing cultural collision n different parts of the world especially when more than one ethnic group is entangled in the case. Both the civic tradition and con conventional legal practices should embrace change by putting into consideration the values and beliefs of other cultures (Limpaphayom, Williams & Fadil, 2006).

In any case, sexual harassment incidences as perceived by different cultures is fast becoming a global problem due to ignorance of the issue and in some cases static legal practices by the judiciary which do not conform to the divergent cultures.

A look at the American law reveals that there has been growing tension between the need to harmonise culture and tolerating other global cultures. However, a civilised society should always endeavour to accommodate opposing views and perhaps work harder to improve them instead of discarding them into pieces (Brase & Miller, 2001).

Instead, any other global society should apply the principle of ordered liberty. According to this principle, different cultures should be accommodated in what is generally referred to as cultural pluralism. However, this can only be effective if it is applied within the confines that can be endured by the majority. This does not imply that personal liberty cannot be applied.

The main requirement should be such that whatever liberty is in force, it should not contravene social order, peaceful co-existence or conventions that the majority can tolerate with much ease (Neher, 1997). Although this doctrine appears appealing, it has been challenged by the left wing multiculturalists.

According to the argument put forward by this group, each cultural group should pursue its own unique traditions, values and practices even if it does not fall within the boundaries of the majority. This may be quite erroneous bearing in mind that the will of the majority matters a lot. In fact, contemporary governments have been built successfully based on democratic force where the majority vote carries the day.

How then should we dispute the glaring reality on the importance of unifying cultural values with sexual harassment in due regard of the majority? It is high time the left wingers changed their tact or better still, follow suit by embracing the doctrine of ordered liberty.

The doctrine of cultural defence was in fact the creation of the left wingers. The latter should however propose the need of judging sexual harassment offenders according to their cultural backgrounds instead of the prevailing legislations.

One major weakness assumption of the culture defence doctrine is that it is only sensitive to one culture thereby disregarding the interests of other ethnic groups. In line with this, there are some legal scholars who argue that the cultural situation of the defendant should be permitted as a mitigating element when judgment is being offered.

This may sound appealing but there are underlying assumptions that should be keenly scrutinized (Itzen & Newman, 2003). The cultural defence doctrine proposes that the cultural background of the offender can be used for purposes of defending a criminal offence on sexual harassment.

However, rarely has it been applied as a defence mechanism in court hearings. The missing link remains to be lack of its application despite of the fact that both doctrines have been used multiple times when reporting cases related to sexual harassment.

Well, it is quite vivid that there are some cultures that are more rigid than others and above all extremely sensitive on matters of sexuality. Worst of all, cases revolving around sexual harassment may never be given a ‘considerate’ hearing, by perhaps applying the principle of ordered liberty (DeFrancisco & Palczewski, 2007).

In the event that there is a gross cultural difference between the complainant and the victim, it is appropriate to make referral to such cases to the country of origin of the wrongdoer. This is especially necessary if no consensus can be reached between the two parties out-of-court or the existing laws are strictly applied as outlined in the clauses.

It is vital to reiterate the various challenges inherent in the application of cultural defence when resolving sexual harassment disputes in courts. Firstly, the purported wrongdoers from other countries do not receive fair share of the justice process since there is eminent disparity in the standards being used to discharge justice.

Both the plaintiff and the defendant should be treated on a common legal platform regardless of the cultural background (Berdahl, Magley & Waldo, 1996). Secondly, the cultural defence doctrine is a healthy ground for breeding cultural stereotyping from minority groups. Rather than the doctrine solving the conflict, it widens the divide between or among different cultures living in one country (Chae, 2007).

Consequently, the smaller cultural groups are adversely alienated. Third, the doctrine markedly fails to promote the women and children’s rights. This is owing to the reinforcement of patriarchal cultural norms that are repugnant or ignorant of the welfare of sensitive groups.

Sincerely speaking, when women and children are removed from the societal equation, it will be a recipe for social stratification and disintegration. Why then should we depreciate their worth at the pretext of defending culture when handling incidences of sexual harassment?

Fourth, the victims do not secure their rightful justice when the offender belongs to a different culture. This is even worse considering the fact that the victim cannot make any referral or appeal the case against the defendant from the same country.

Furthermore, the deterrent value that is supposed to be attached to punishment is limited especially when cultural cues are incorporated as part and parcel of mitigating for the case at hand. As a consequence, the accused may not see the sense in the entire verdict of the presiding jury and is more likely to repeat the offence with impunity within a foreseeable future.

Finally, the doctrine of cultural defence sometimes fail to acknowledge the grim reality that the justice system equally permits the integration of cultural background as a mitigating factor when delivering judgments and therefore the defendant still has the right to plead for reducing the judgment instead of receiving the full sentence.

Notwithstanding these limitations of cultural defence, proponents of this doctrine persist that it is only the application of this principle that individualized justice and fair rule can be enhanced. They continue to debate that there is no other better way of advancing cultural pluralism apart from applying the doctrine to the letter.

Besides, the advocates of this principle maintain that the mind of the wrongdoers when committing the alleged crime can be ascertained in a better way only through the doctrine of cultural defence.

Although the proponents of this unfavourable doctrine are quite outspoken on why they support it, there are notable assumptions that might result in grievous consequences if they are not addressed. It is conspicuous that the doctrine of ordered liberty has no constrictions in its application. It has no need to be backed up with mountain of explanations on why it is acceptable.

It is also a live example on how multicultural conflicts such as those arising from sexual harassment can be resolved in a fair and justified manner. Moreover, proponents of the doctrine of cultural defence should rise to the occasion and understand the fact that there is no higher duty than giving due respect to all the diverse cultures across the globe especially when handling disputes cutting across cultures.

Yet again, the doctrine of ordered liberty can indeed support the viewpoint that the concept of sexual harassment can be elaborated and discussed along culturally acknowledged practices provided that the very application does not supersede the generally accepted norms of the society.

Common knowledge per se cannot be adequate in quantifying sexual harassment cases. This is almost similar to the Hong Kong SDO legislation that employs certain objective tests in determining the validity of sexual harassment cases presented to the courts. Common knowledge is uniform or standard to all users and therefore its application might be significantly different.

For this reason, the much desired greater accuracy cannot be obtained. Let us consider this scenario. It is common knowledge and general perception that those who are powerfully superior at workplace often instigate sexual harassment to their subordinate victims. In contrast, evidence-based research has conclusively established that a higher percentage of sexual harassment incidences are prevalent among peers or colleagues.

Another observation has been empirically obtained notes that individuals who have never gone through sexual harassment in the past are highly likely to point an accusing finger to the purported victim. Unfortunately, common perception may not bring this on board, limiting the justice process further (Adler & Towne, 2003).

In yet another empirically researched report, the length of time a complainant will endure sexual advances before eventually filing a case is paramount. Common knowledge may not consider this as an important parameter when passing judgments on offenders, let alone the cultural background.

Sexual harassment and culture are two different concepts yet interlinked and inseparable. The societal impacts brought about by the influence of globalisation cannot be overstated; it is all evident in our day to day lives. When we mention diversity, multiple cultural backgrounds also come into play.

This form of harassment is mostly common at workplaces although the vice can permeate other domains in the society such as family set ups and institutions. Hence, employers and managers can no longer ignore the significance of cultural diversity when hiring workers.

To this end, it worth to note that the concept of sexual harassment is quite complex especially when the process of seeking justice is encompassed. As clearly as it stands, sexual harassment is a criminal offence although culture is very instrumental in fully defining the concept. This implies that the derived meaning of the concept may be as diverse as the existing traditions and cultural values among different ethnic groups.

Empirical-based research studies conducted on sexual harassment and culture from different locations in the world reveals it all. While touching the shoulder of a woman whom one is not intimately related with may be considered sexual harassment among some of the Caucasian ethnic groups, the very act may simply be interpreted as a way of seeking attention in the American society.

Such variance in culture and perception indeed calls for the application of ordered liberty doctrine that attempts to address and account for cultural differences when passing judgments on wrongdoers.

Needless to say, the doctrine of cultural defence is by far and large a bitter pill to swallow since it largely overlooks other cultures when delivering judgments and sentencing defenders.

As globalisation continues to take its toll on our traditional systems and structures, we should equally be compatible with the changing times. Moreover, proponents of the latter doctrine should reconsider their stand and allow multi-cultural approach to incidences surrounding sexual harassment.

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IvyPanda. (2019, April 30). Sexual Harassment and Culture. https://ivypanda.com/essays/sexual-harassment-and-culture-essay/

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[ July 19, 2024 ] Scott Hahn urges priests at National Eucharistic Congress to ‘rekindle Eucharistic amazement’ News Briefs
[ July 19, 2024 ] Famous French priest Abbé Pierre accused of sexual assault and harassment News Briefs
[ July 19, 2024 ] Pro-life photojournalist Mark Story remembered as ‘true man of God’ after sudden death News Briefs
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Famous French priest Abbé Pierre accused of sexual assault and harassment

July 19, 2024 Catholic News Agency News Briefs 0 Print

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 19, 2024 / 17:23 pm (CNA).

Emmaus Movement founder Abbé Pierre, a formerly beloved French priest who died in 2007, has been accused of sexual abuse and misconduct by at least seven victims — including one who was a minor at the time of her alleged assault.

A July 17 report released by the Emmaus Movement, an international solidarity movement that seeks to combat poverty and homelessness, details that these victims largely consisted of Emmaus employees and volunteers, and young women in Pierre’s social circle. According to these victims, incidents of unsolicited kissing and touching, as well as inappropriate sexual propositions and comments, took place between the end of the 1970s and 2005.

These allegations were first reported in 2023, when Emmaus France received a report from a woman accusing Pierre of sexual assault. An internal investigation led by Caroline De Haas of the Egaé group followed, in which the seven victims’ testimonies were gathered. Egaé, a firm that specializes in violence prevention, shared its beliefs that Pierre’s actions affected other victims dating back to the 1950s and 1960s, but the time elapse has made it difficult to obtain further accounts and testimonies.

In a recent statement, Emmaus commended the “courage of the people who have testified and made it possible, through their words, to bring these realities to light. We believe them, we know that these intolerable acts have left their mark, and we stand by them.”

The group then goes on to denounce the “unacceptable acts committed” by Pierre, who “played a major role in its history.”

“We owe it to the victims. We also owe it to all those who, for over 70 years, have carried out the movement’s actions on a daily basis,” the statement continued. “We share their grief and anger, but also their determination to continue working, every day, to build a fairer, more united world.”

The Emmaus Movement was founded in Paris in 1949 by Pierre. Prior to these recent allegations and findings, the Catholic priest and Capuchin friar was one of the Church of France’s most beloved and iconic figures.

After being part of the French Resistance in World War II, the priest took on the name “Abbé Pierre” as a cover for his work in manufacturing fake identity papers and helping Jews cross the French border into Switzerland.

Pierre was particularly applauded for his efforts to assist the homeless population in France, often raising money and persuading the French Parliament to pass laws acting on behalf of the homeless, including a 1950s law forbidding landlords from evicting tenants during the winter. This “Trêve Hivernale,” or “Winter Truce” law, still exists in France today.

Despite his popularity, Pierre faced other controversies before the most recent one of alleged sexual assault. The priest faced public scrutiny in 1996 after defending a friend’s book, “Founding Myths of Israeli Politics,” which questioned the number of Jewish people killed by the Nazis in World War II.

In a 2005 book of interviews by Frederic Lenoir titled “My God… Why?” Pierre suggested he had broken his vow of celibacy by having sex as a younger man. Among other comments made in this book, Pierre expressed his support for married clergy and the ordination of women.

In light of these allegations, the French Bishops’ Conference (CEF) shared a press release acknowledging Pierre’s past contributions in renewing “our society’s view of the poorest,” while also condemning his sexual assault against women.

“While awaiting the published report, the CEF wishes to assure the victims of its deep compassion and shame that such acts could be committed by a priest,” the release continued, “and reiterates its determination to mobilize to make the Church a safe house.”

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Cardinal Koch: Week of Prayer for Christian Unity a time to pray for peace in Ukraine

Cardinal Kurt Koch / Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Rome Newsroom, Jan 19, 2023 / 08:00 am (CNA). Under the shadow of the war in Ukraine, this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is an opportunity for Christians to work together to achieve peace, acco… […]

Beacon of faith: Lebanese town builds giant floating rosary at sea

ACI MENA, May 16, 2024 / 05:00 am (CNA).

A Lebanese Catholic man has created a giant rosary that floats upon the Mediterranean waves.

Joe Abdel Sater, a swimming instructor in the seaside town of Bouar, built the world’s largest rosary on the ocean on May 11 — with the help of family and friends — on the feast of Our Lady of the Seas.

Joe Abdel Sater, a swimming instructor in the seaside town of Bouar, Lebanon, built the world's largest rosary on the ocean. With the help of family and friends, his vision took shape and was launched on May 11, 2024, during the feast of Our Lady of the Seas. Credit: Joe Abdel Sater

The idea came to Abdel Sater during his daily contemplation of the sea.

For six months, he perceived the outlining of rosary beads on the water’s surface. Compelled to make this vision a reality, he received blessings from the local parish priest, Father Ferez Tawk, and from the mayor. However, executing such an ambitious undertaking was no easy feat.

“For a month, I puzzled over what materials to use — wood or foam?” Abdel Sater recalled. “How could I secure the rosary’s shape against the shifting currents?” But, as he put it, “divine providence facilitated things.”

An illuminated icon on the waves

Stretching 100 meters (about 330 feet) across the water, the finished rosary is comprised of white plastic gallon jugs representing the Hail Mary beads and larger blue ones for the Our Father prayers. The cross is made of wood.

“I dove down and tied the beads with rope, anchoring them to the rocks below,” Abdel Sater explained to ACI Mena, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner. “So despite the changing tides, the rosary’s form remained intact.”

Outfitted with lights, the installation casts a luminous glow at night.

Though forced to temporarily move it ashore due to rough waters, Abdel Sater hopes to soon re-float his unprecedented creation, which he has submitted for inclusion into the Guinness Book of World Records.

A community united

For the Parish of Sts. Takla and John, the floating rosary provided a centerpiece for celebrating the feast of Our Lady of the Seas on May 11. As Tawk explained: “We gathered parishioners to offer a Mass giving thanks to Our Blessed Mother. This endeavor symbolizes our Eastern Catholic devotion to Mary.”

Reflecting on the profound symbolism, Tawk noted that “alone, rosary beads lose their meaning. As Catholic faithful, we’re those beads and our community binds us together through life’s crashing waves.”

“Without that communion, even the strongest believer can be swept away,” Tawk said. “But by walking together with Jesus as our anchor, we can withstand any storm and find redemption. Thus, we become like Mary, who stood firm in her faith under the cross, understanding that Jesus’ sacrifice is the beginning of salvation.”

This article was originally published by ACI Mena, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, and has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Spanish religious who help trafficking victims celebrate order’s 75th anniversary

Madrid, Spain, Oct 6, 2017 / 11:08 pm ( ACI Prensa ).- The Helpers of the Good Shepherd, an order of religious sisters dedicated to helping victims of sexual exploitation, drew praise from Cardinal Carlos Osoro Sierra of Madrid for their witness to the dignity of women.

The order recently celebrated the 75th anniversary of their founding with a Mass celebrated by the cardinal.

The charism of the sisters focuses on “promoting, restoring, and respecting the dignity of women,” Osoro said. They work to provide homes for victims of sexual exploitation and organized slavery.

The sisters operate Villa Teresita Homes, which are small communities of sisters living alongside women fleeing sexual exploitation and their children. The homes are dedicated St. Therese of Lisieux.

Cardinal Osoro noted in his homily that the Helpers of the Good Shepherd were founded “to eliminate the exploitation of women who are treated as objects, and who suffer a lack of respect for their dignity.”

“You have given the best of your lives to improve the lives of those who are victims of trafficking, exploitation and organized slavery,” he said.

Cardinal Osoro also stated that the lives of the sisters and their programs are “for redemption and liberation,” and said that “every woman is a bearer of love, a teacher of mercy, a builder of peace, a communicator of warmth and humanity in this world which often judges the value of a person with the cold criteria of exploitation and profits.”

“God offers life so that we can make an offering of it always to others. That is what you Helpers of the Good Shepherd are doing,” the cardinal said.

He encouraged the sisters to to announce Christ as witnesses, reminding them that “what is opposed to the true faith is not unbelief but the lack of witness in our lives.”

The cardinal invited those at the Mass to “translate into deeds the beauty and joy of the Gospel” and thanked the sisters for their work. “There’s no disconnect between what we often say with words and what we live out in our everyday lives,” he said.

The Helpers of the Good Shepherd had their beginnings in Pamplona, Spain, in 1942. Isabel Garbayo, their foundress, opened the first Villa Teresita home, forming a small community of consecrated women, with a special concern for serving the most disadvantaged and marginalized women.

Garbayo wanted all women to know that “the home that we offer them is the home of God, to which all are invited, welcomed with joy and gratitude by sisters who love them, and look upon their arrival at the home as if a treasure walked in.”

The Helpers of the Good Shepherd have homes in the Spanish cities of Seville, Pamplona, Valencia, Madrid, and Las Palmas and conduct emergency interventions through a hotline they have established.

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I Knew Diddy for Years. What I Now Remember Haunts Me.

Looking back on my life as a woman in the music industry, I’m unsettled by the inescapable sexism perpetrated by Sean Combs and others.

Credit... Artwork by David Samuel Stern

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By Danyel Smith

Published July 12, 2024 Updated July 17, 2024

A thing happened between Sean Combs and me. Unlike what he has been accused of over the last eight months, what occurred between us was not sexual. It was professional — demonstrative of the way dynamic and domineering men moved in our heyday. Combs and I worked together a lot. Competed, in our way. So often I thought I came out on top. I was mistaken. I had reason to fear for my life. What happened was insidious. It broke my brain. I forgot the worst of it for 27 years.

Listen to this article, read by Janina Edwards

It was July 1997. In the fading smoke of the murders of Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G., I was named editor in chief of a music magazine called Vibe. Started by Quincy Jones and Time Inc. in 1992, the magazine chronicled Black music and culture with rigor and beauty, 10 issues a year, for an audience that was relentlessly underserved. When I took over, we thought hip-hop might have died with our heroes, and we were determined not only to keep it alive but also to give it the cultural credit it was due.

Hip-hop was both in mourning and in marketing meetings. Combs, Biggie’s creative partner and label boss, was the personification of this dichotomy. His Bad Boy Records was having a $100 million year — much due to the work of Biggie and Mase, as well as Combs’s own debut album, “No Way Out,” which was anchored by the blockbuster Biggie tribute “I’ll Be Missing You” featuring Faith Evans. Other singles, “It’s All About the Benjamins” and “Been Around the World,” functioned as a score for hip-hop’s megawatt moment — its commercial evolution and international expansion. (“No Way Out” would go on to sell over seven million copies.) So I wanted Combs on the cover of Vibe’s December 1997/January 1998 double issue. And I wanted him to wear white feathered wings.

My point of reference was the poster for “Heaven Can Wait,” a 1978 film starring Warren Beatty. The movie is about a quarterback who dies before his time and is reincarnated as an idiosyncratic and callous billionaire. Vibe’s working cover line for Sacha Jenkins’s article was “The Good, the Bad and the Puffy.” Not so elegant, but it would work if the fashion director Emil Wilbekin and I got Combs (then known as Puffy, or Puff Daddy) to put on the angel wings. And if we also got a shot that looked even slightly mischievous, we could do a split run of the cover — one with heavenly signifiers and another with hellish ones. Possible cover line: “Bad Boy, Bad Boy, Whatcha Gonna Do?”

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Sexual Harassment and Its Impact Free Essay Example
Sexual Harassment
⇉Sexual Harassment In Workplace Research Paper Essay Example
Sexual Harassment and Bullying Essay 1
Sexual Harrasment in School Free Essay Example
Sexual Harassment & Sexual Consent Essay Example

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Essay On Sexual Harassment in English for Students
The essay on sexual harassment will take you through the details. Sexual harassment refers to any form of unwelcome sexual behaviour which is offensive, humiliating and intimidating. Over the years, sexual harassment has taken a lot of time to be recognized as a real issue. The essay on sexual harassment will take you through the details.
Sexual Harassment
65 essay samples found. Sexual harassment is a widespread problem that primarily affects women in various settings. Sexual harassment essay examples serve as powerful reminders of the prevalence of this harmful behavior and the need for change. By working together and sharing information through argumentative essays about sexual harassment ...
What it really takes to stop sexual harassment
James Campbell Quick, PhD, and M. Ann McFadyen, PhD, seek to answer that question in the July issue of APA's Journal of Occupational Health Psychology (Vol. 22, No. 3, 2017). Their article reviews the literature on sexual harassment and finds that while sexual harassment complaints have decreased by 28 percent since 1998, complaints by males have increased, and merit resolutions and monetary ...
Making Sense of Sexual Harassment Over Time: Young Women's and
The essays included both personal accounts of harassment and general opinions about what harassment is and what explains it. Personal accounts often entailed descriptions of how a participant acted when responding to an unwanted advance, or how she anticipated she would act if harassed.
PDF Writing about Sexual Harassment: A Guide to the Literature
The Civil Rights Act of 1991 clearly contemplates actions for sexual harassment and permits plaintiffs to recover compensatory and punitive damages up to a maxi-mum of between $50,000 and $300,000, depending on the size of the employer. 42. U.S.C. § 1981a(a)(1), (b) (Supp. III 1991). Jury trials are now available under Title VII for plaintiffs ...
Not Just My Story: Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault in Schools by
Sexual harassment is defined by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as "unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature." The Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network ( RAINN ) defines sexual assault as "sexual contact or behavior that occurs without explicit ...
Sexual Harassment in Schools
Identification. Sexual harassment is a violation of one's sexual privacy. Such violations are perpetuated without the consent of the victim. Young et al. (2004) define this form of abuse as any sexual behavior that is unwelcome and offensive to the individual. The offense can be verbal or physical.
Sexual Harassment: Issue Analysis
Sexual Harassment: Issue Analysis Essay. One of the central problems of modernity is considered to be related to the sexual harassment faced in the spheres of business and education. It is necessary to stress that sexual harassment is a growing social problem to be suffered by millions of employees and members of institutions; sexual harassment ...
Sexual Harassment
To speak with someone who is trained to help, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673) or chat online at online.rainn.org. You should be able to feel comfortable in your place of work or learning. If you are being sexually harassed, you can report it to the authorities at your job, school, or local law enforcement.
Essays on Sexual Harassment
The Issue of Sexual Harassment at Workplace. "Sexual harassment is a sexual pressure that one is not in a position to refuse, it is deliberate, or repeated sexual behaviour that is unwelcome. It is about male privilege and dominance." -Sexual Harassment: Made-to-order essay as fast as you need it Each essay is...
Recent Thinking about Sexual Harassment: A Review Essay
the variety of sexual harassment claims. Twenty-five years ago, Catharine MacKinnon made her pathbreaking argument that sexual harassment constitutes sex discrimination under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. 1 Her work entrenched a paradigm of sexual harassment as sexual conduct that men impose on women because they are women. Since then, a variety of plaintiffs whose complaints do not ...
7 Findings, Conclusions, and Recommendations
FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS Chapter 2: Sexual Harassment Research. Sexual harassment is a form of discrimination that consists of three types of harassing behavior: (1) gender harassment (verbal and nonverbal behaviors that convey hostility, objectification, exclusion, or second-class status about members of one gender); (2) unwanted sexual attention (unwelcome verbal or physical sexual advances ...
Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: Male and Female Perspectives
Sexual harassment in the workplace was identified as a problem of sex discrimination characterized by "unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature" in 1964 (McLaughlin, Uggen, & Blackstone, 2012, p. 626).
Essays on Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment exists in many forms - from unambiguous remarks to assault with the intent of rape. Most essay-writers define sexual harassment as intimidation, bullying, or coercion of sexual nature, as well as unwelcome or inappropriate sexual actions, and other verbal or physical harassment of sexual nature.
Sexual Harassment and Gender Equality
Both men and women experience sexual harassment but most cases reported are female related. Most cases of sexual harassment always end up unheard and unsolved making many individuals to suffer in pain and in silence. Impact of sexual harassment Sexual harassment can influence either in a personal way or in the organization.
Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: [Essay Example], 606 words
Sexual harassment in the workplace is a serious and pervasive issue that has significant impacts on individuals and organizations. It not only creates a hostile, intimidating, and offensive work environment but also leads to detrimental effects on the psychological well-being and professional development of the victims. Moreover, it results in financial costs for organizations due to decreased ...
Vol. 115, No. 2 Essay
o address harassment.The public discourse surrounding the accusations of sexual harassment against two federal judges, Judge Alex Kozinski and Judge Stephen Reinhardt, is representative of the narrow individualist understanding of harassment that. e sketched out above. Both judges were extremely well connected within.
Sexual Harassment at the Workplace
Sexual Harassment at the Workplace Opinion Essay. Skaine (1996) defines sexual harassment as "unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature…when submission or rejection of this conduct explicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual ...
Sexual Harassment Research
This chapter reviews the information gathered through decades of sexual harassment research. It provides definitions of key terms that will be used throughout the report, establishing a common framework from the research literature and the law for discussing these issues. In reviewing what sexual harassment research has learned over time, the chapter also examines the research methods for ...
Sexual Harassment in a Workplace
Essay Example: Introduction According to human rights, sexual harassment is unexpected sexual behavior which could possibly make an individual feel intimidated, humiliated or offended. ... Examples of this type of sexual harassment include personal questions that are sexual in nature, offensive languages, offensive pictures or any kind of ...
Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment is an unwelcome sexual behavior, which mainly makes the person affected feel offended, intimidated or humiliated. Sexual harassment is verbal, physical or written. ... ☑ Essays ☑ Personal Statements ☑ Reports ☑ Research Papers ☑ Research Proposals ☑ Reviews ☑ Speeches ☑ Summaries ☑ Term Papers ...
Recent Thinking about Sexual Harassment: A Review Essay
This review essay considers recent approaches to understanding sexual harassment, taking Catharine MacKinnon and Reva Siegel's Direc-tions in Sexual Harassment Law as a primary guide. This work comprises nearly forty concise contributions from leading legal academics and lawyers active in sexual harassment litigation.
People manager guide: How to tackle sexual harassment
Reporting sexual harassment takes courage and can be extremely stressful. Individuals raising the concern or complaint will need reassurance and support, and their performance is likely to be affected, especially while an investigation is ongoing. Bystanders who have witnessed sexual harassment may also require additional support.
Sexual Harassment and culture
Sexual Harassment in Schools. Sexual harassment can also prevail in educational institutions. The amendment of the Hong Kong's Sex Discrimination Ordinance (SDO) law that was adopted on 3 rd October 2008 witnessed the incorporation of educational settings as one of the areas where sexual harassment offense can take place (the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, 2009).
Famous French priest Abbé Pierre accused of sexual assault and harassment
Abbé Pierre died at the age of 94 in 2007. He is now accused of sexually assaulting and harassing numerous women. / Credit: Wim van Rossem for Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons Washington, D.C ...
My Working Relationship With Diddy in the Music Industry
L.A. Reid stepped down as the chief executive of Epic Records following a 2017 accusation of sexual harassment by an assistant (a lawsuit filed last year accuses him of sexual assault and harassment).

Essay on Sexual Harassment

Sexual Harassment and Its Impacts

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What it really takes to stop sexual harassment

The quest for effective training

The role of workplace culture

The fate of harassment targets

Have we made any progress?

Letters to the Editor

Sexual Harassment

What is sexual harassment?

What does sexual harassment look like?

What is the difference between sexual harassment and sexual assault? What about sexual misconduct?

Where can sexual harassment occur?

What can I do when I witness sexual harassment?

What are some effects of sexual harassment?

Emotional effects:

Mental health effects:

Physical effects:

Where can I learn more about sexual harassment?

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Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2018)

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS

Chapter 3: Sexual Harassment in Academic Science, Engineering, and Medicine

Chapter 4: Outcomes of Sexual Harassment

Chapter 5: Existing Legal and Policy Mechanisms for Addressing Sexual Harassment

Chapter 6: Changing the Culture and Climate in Higher Education

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Essays on Sexual Harassment

Related topic to Sexual Harassment

Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

2 Sexual Harassment Research

Survey Methods

Experimental Methods

Interviews, Case Studies, and Other Qualitative Methods

Sociolegal Methods

Characteristics of Sexual Harassment

Sexual Harassment Among Women of Color and Sexual- and Gender-Minority Women

Characteristics of Sexually Harassing Environments

In this Page

Recent Activity

Sexual Harassment in a Workplace

Introduction

Types of Sexual Harassment

Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment

Third-party Sexual Harassment

Causes of Sexual Harassment

Lack of Confidence

Fear and power

Socialization

Immaturity and Desire to Please

Lack of Company Policies

Poor of Complaints Channels

Impacts of Sexual Harassment

Impacts on Personnel

Decreased Work Performance

Impacts on Organization

Higher Indirect Expenses and Turnover Rate

Impacts on Social Community

Ways of Preventing Sexual Harassment

Organizational Responsibilities

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Sexual Harassment

Sexual Harassment and Culture Essay

Introduction

Famous French priest Abbé Pierre accused of sexual assault and harassment

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