NCJ Number
116073
Journal
Women's Studies International Forum Volume: 11 Issue: 1 Dated: (1988) Pages: 55-66
Date Published
1988
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This study examines sexual harassment of women in the United States in the workplace, schools, and public and civic places and discusses possibilities for remedying sexual harassment and other victimization of women.
Abstract
Subjects for the study were 607 North Carolina women ages 18 to 65. Most had completed high school. Over three-quarters of the subjects were white, while 23 percent were black. For employed women the following factors were also assessed: how long they had been on the job; whether their jobs employed mostly males, females, or was neutral; and the nature of their work. The subjects were interviewed and asked to identify types of harassment they had experienced, how often they had experienced it, and their relationship to the harasser. Of the 607 women, 272 or 45 percent had experienced at least one unwanted sexual advance. Of the group of 272, 144 or 53 percent had experienced more than one type of advance. The study found that sexual harassment of women is most likely to occur in the workplace and to be perpetrated by co-workers. Women who were younger, never-married, or divorced and with feminist attitudes were more likely to report harassment as were women with the highest and lowest levels of education. There was no correlation between harassment and length of time on the job or whether the occupation had a higher percentage of males or females. However, the study found that sexual harassment of women results more from overall male dominance in society than from specific characteristics of the workplace. 34 references. (Author abstract modified)