NCJ Number
164275
Date Published
1996
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Although confusion exists regarding what constitutes sexual harassment on college campuses, an adequate definition of sexual harassment is important to educate college professors and students and to promote healthy discussion of sexual harassment experiences.
Abstract
Sexual harassment includes behaviors far more pervasive than sexual assault. In fact, most female victims of sexual harassment experience behaviors that may never involve touching. Two components of the legal definition of sexual harassment involve quid pro quo and hostile environment. Quid pro quo sexual harassment refers to direct sexual negotiation--getting a reward for complying with the sexual requests of a faculty member or being punished for failing to comply with a faculty member's sexual demands. Hostile environment sexual harassment involves an atmosphere that is created in the college classroom, faculty dining room, science laboratory, or dormitory and that is perceived by an individual to be hostile, offensive, and intimidating. Sexual harassment takes many forms, from sexist remarks and covert physical contact to blatant propositions and sexual assaults. Researchers have developed five categories to encompass various facets of sexual harassment: gender harassment, seductive behavior, sexual bribery, sexual coercion, and sexual imposition. Sexual harassment involves the confluence of authority (power) relations and sexuality (sexism) in a culture stratified by sex. One research study indicates that 30 percent of undergraduate women suffer sexual harassment from at least one of their instructors during their 4 years of college. Other research suggests that the incidence of academic sexual harassment of minority women is even greater than that reported with white women. The author concludes that sexual harassment is a major form of victimization of female students at colleges and universities. 9 references