Organizational Climate, Leadership and Individual Responses to Sexual Harassment in the Active Duty Military

• NCJ Number: 171741
• Journal: Free Inquiry in Creative Sociology Volume: 25 Issue: 2 Dated: November 1997 Pages: 211-218
• Author(s): J M Firestone; R J Harris
• Date Published: 1997
• Length: 8 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This analysis explored patterns of response to the harassment experiences that had the greatest effect on the respondents to the 1988 Department of Defense Survey of Sex Roles in the Active-Duty Military.

Abstract

The survey pertained to the respondents' perceptions about the effectiveness of their own responses to the harassment, respondents' opinions about the efforts of senior military leadership, and their own immediate supervisor's efforts to "make honest and reasonable efforts to stop sexual harassment in the active-duty military." The findings are consistent with previous research in showing that only a small proportion of individuals who have experienced sexual harassment respond through official channels. To cope with their harassment experience, both men and women were most likely to use individual, informal strategies, such as ignoring the behavior, making a joke of the incident, or telling the harasser to stop. Of the responses used most often, ignoring the behavior or making a joke of it were least likely to be perceived as making the situation better. Of those who did report the perceived harassment to an official, approximately 50 percent of the women and 45 percent of the men thought it made the situation better. The small proportion of those who use official channels to respond to sexual harassment suggests the lack of a clear understanding of policies and procedures, or perhaps a lack of trust in them. These findings suggest that one aspect of a strategy to address sexual harassment should focus on lowering the incidence of sexual harassment. This could include strong public statements regarding policies and enforcement strategies, as well as educational programs designed to increase understanding of what constitutes harassment. The other effort should provide options to address sexual harassment incidents. At a minimum, this must include safe reporting channels outside of the normal chain of command and protection of the complainant in her/his job assignment. 3 tables, 6 notes, and 31 references