Current Definitions of Sexual Harassment Should Not Apply to Academia (From What Is Sexual Harassment? P 75-82, 1995, Karin L Swisher, ed. -- See NCJ-164224)

• NCJ Number: 164435
• Author(s): K Roiphe
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 8 pages
• Sale Source: Greenhaven Press
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The current broad definitions of sexual harassment advocated by doctrinaire feminist groups on college campuses have contributed to an hysteria that vilifies male professors and students alike; this atmosphere inhibits free speech and undermines the education environment.

Abstract

According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's definition, any conduct may be deemed sexual harassment if it "has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work or academic performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working or academic environment." The hostility or offensiveness of a working environment is difficult to measure by objective standards. Such vague categorization opens the issue up to the individual psyche. The clarity of the definition of sexual harassment as a "hostile work environment" depends on a universal code of conduct, a shared idea of acceptable behavior that we do not have. Something that makes one person feel uncomfortable may make another person feel great. The concept of sexual harassment provides a blank canvas on which students can express all of the insecurities, fears, and confusions about the relative sexual freedom of the college experience. The heightened awareness of the potential for sexual encroachment creates an atmosphere of suspicion and distrust between faculty and students. Many professors follow an unwritten rule: never close the door to your office when you and a female student are inside. The inflamed rhetoric against harassment implies that all women are potential victims and all men are potential harassers. In the current hypersensitive environment, caution and better judgment can lead professors to keep female students at a distance. It may be easier not to pursue friendships with female students than to risk charges of sexual harassment and misunderstood intentions. Further, in an excessive effort to purge the university of sexual corruption, many institutions have violated the rights of the professors involved by neglecting to follow standard procedures. 14 notes