NCJ Number
166636
Journal
Gender and Society Volume: 8 Issue: 4 Dated: (December 1994) Pages: 584-596
Date Published
1994
Length
13 pages
Annotation
Data from a survey of the sexual harassment of women in Canada revealed that 83.2 percent of the 1,990 women interviewed had received obscene or threatening telephone calls.
Abstract
The research used a two-stage probability sampling process to gather information from women between ages 18 and 65, who spoke English or French, and who worked or had worked at a paid job outside the home during the last year. The data were collected in 1992. Results revealed that those most likely to have been victims of this harassment were divorced and separated women, young women, and women living in major metropolitan areas. In addition, the most disturbing calls usually came at night when the woman was home alone. The typical caller was an adult male who was unknown to the woman. Moreover, relatively few women reported these calls to the police or the telephone company; those who did report tended to receive an unhelpful response. Most of the women said that the calls affected them emotionally; fear was by far the most common response. Findings provide strong support for feminist theorizing about violence, fear, and the social control of women. Tables, notes, and 5 references (Author abstract modified)