NCJ Number
116081
Date Published
1986
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Sexual harassment is an issue on college campuses that cannot be ignored.
Abstract
Some form of sexual harassment is experienced by 20 to 30 percent of female college students. Students may be harassed by anyone on campus -- professors, advisors, or other students. Such harassment is primarily an issue of power rather than sex, and most harassment involves some elements of coercion, threat, and/or unwanted sexual attention in a nonreciprocal relationship. Sexual harassment may range from sexual innuendos and suggestive or insulting sounds to coerced sexual intercourse or assault. Although all female students may be harassed, four categories of student may be especially vulnerable: women in nontraditional fields, who may be perceived as interlopers; women in graduate school, who may be nearer in age to instructors and involved in close working relationships that could be misinterpreted by faculty as sexual interest; minority women, for whom harassment may be an expression of racism or stereotyping; and inexperienced, unassertive, younger women. Students who experience such harassment should not blame themselves, take action to prevent repetitions, and speak out about the harassment. A letter to the harasser also may prove an effective means of ending such behavior. In addition, to informal institutional means for dealing with harassment, such as talking to the harasser's supervisor or dean, formal mechanisms also exist. These involve filing a complaint and scheduling a hearing during which it is decided what actions, if any, should be taken to end the problem. In some instances, sexual harassment may be illegal under Title IX, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and under State law. 7 references.