Sexual Harassment Behaviors Research Articles

"Effects of Gender Harassment on Organizational Trust, Workgroup Effectiveness and Cohesion"

Sexual harassment is a serious problem in the workplace. There is less research on gender harassment, a subgroup of sexual harassment behavior involving hostile and degrading jokes, statements and behaviors. Gender harassment can lead to negative outcomes, and this problem does not just affect individuals, but also extends to teams. To investigate the relationship between gender harassment and team outcomes, we modeled how gender harassment in the military affects perceptions of team cohesion and team effectiveness in women using an Organizational Climate Survey focused on equal opportunity and organizational effectiveness. Over 750,000 military personnel are part of the sample. Organizational trust was found to be a mediator of this relationship. Nested model comparison was used to determine the relative improvement in fit for the partial mediation model over that of the full mediation model. Gender harassment, which typically involves jokes, has not received as much attention as sexual advances and quid pro quo behavior, but can have extremely negative consequences, as the current model illustrates.

Perceptions of NIRSA Employees Relating to the Presence of Sexual Harassment and Related Offensive Behavior (Quid Pro Quo) within College Recreation Department Workplaces

This article summarizes the responses of NIRSA employees in terms of their perceptions of specific unwanted sexual harassment activities and behavior and the extent to which a quid pro quo (sex for favors) environment or situation exists within their respective work places. This is the second part of a four-part North American investigation of College Recreation Departments Workplaces on the subject of sexual harassment in the workplace. Examination and comparison of the data were made in terms of a) whether such behavior takes place, b) the types (examples) of sexual behaviors deemed to be part of quid pro quo expectations of sexual favors, as well as c) the frequencies of such behavior. Analysis of the data was based on the respondent's gender, gender of their supervisor, and marital status. The study revealed that sexual harassments conduct in terms of quid pro quo behavior was not thought to exist in any meaningful manner in the college recreational programs as perceived by those individuals employed (in a variety of positions and areas of responsibilities) within such departments.

Accessible Information and Prevention Strategies Related to Student Sexual Harassment: A Review of Students Harassing Students

The problem of sexual harassment in schools creates devastating emotional, psychological, and educational effects among students. More than three-fourths of students report that they have been sexually harassed at school. The effects of this harmful torment can range from feelings of embarrassment and anxiety to suicidal thoughts and a significant drop in school attendance and learning (pp. ix–xi). The author of the book Students Harassing Students, Dr. Jan Cantrell, notes that although more school sexual harassment policies were put into place between 1993 to 2001, sexual harassment in schools still increased during this period (p. 3). In light of increased bullying in schools and recent school-related suicides stemming from sexual harassment, the content of this book serves as an apt response to a growing issue in schools. Students Harassing Students presents three main goals: to educate parents and educators on the scope of the problem of sexual harassment; to inform students that they can receive help; and to convey the knowledge that sexual harassment among students can be decreased (p. xi). Cantrell relays these points through setting up each chapter systematically to illustrate a case study and clear definitions, legal issues, suggested solutions, and thoughtful preventions related to the chapter topic. There are many strengths to Cantrell’s book. It is quite clear that the author feels strongly about this subject, has gathered extensive information on the topic, and understands the school environment. Cantrell references large-scale, comprehensive reports, and past and current case law and policies, thereby giving a thorough look into the different components of this serious issue. The content of the book is spread among ten chapters which address the following topics: the scope and frequency of sexual harassment in schools; the definition sexual harassment; guidance for teachers and counselors on identifying and targeting sexual harassment behaviors; preventing harassment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students; addressing electronic manifestations of sexual harassment; legal issues and policy development; and finally, addressing parents, students, and administrators. Cantrell defines sexual harassment using a description from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). This definition states that like all other forms of sexual assault, “sexual harassment includes a wide range of behaviors including unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, when submission to or rejection of this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual’s employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment”. Cantrell goes beyond merely looking at occurrence rates of sexual harassment in schools- she provides insight on why such incidents occur. The author succinctly outlines the reasons for peer-on-peer sexual harassment: the student is unaware that his/her action is sexual harassment;

The role of power in sexual harassment as a counterproductive behavior in organizations

We present sexual harassment (SH) as a counterproductive behavior and show how revealing the role of power as an underlying motive in SH and other counterproductive work behavior (CWB) incidents may help us to more fully understand these negative phenomena. We offer a model explicating the role of power in SH based on French and Raven's (French, J. R. & Raven, B. H. (1959). The bases of social power. In Cartwright, D. (Ed.), Studies in social power. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, Institute of Social Research) description of sources of power, and expanded to include individual, organizational, and societal levels of such influences. Specifically, we propose that: 1) Recognizing the various bases of power can help identify and rectify power issues in SH, as well as in other CWB incidents; 2) SH and related CWBs are symptoms of a culture of power issues (including abuse) in the organization.

Men’s Empathic Bias, Empathic Inaccuracy, and Sexual Harassment

This study investigated the relationship between men’s sexual harassment of women and men accuracy and bias when inferring women’s critical or rejecting thoughts and feelings. Eighty married men from the Arlington, Texas, USA community participated. Results indicated that men’s sexual harassment behavior is negatively related to men’s accuracy in determining when women have critical or rejecting thoughts or feelings. Further, men’s sexual harassment behavior is positively related to men’s bias to overattribute criticism and rejection. This pattern of findings suggests that male sexual harassers tend to over-infer women’s criticism and rejection and make these inferences at the wrong times. These findings also support recent speculation that men’s sexual harassment of women is related to aggression rather than seduction.

Sexual Harassment Against Nurses in Turkey

To identify the prevalence and sources of sexual harassment against nurses in Turkey, its consequences, and factors affecting harassment experiences. Descriptive survey. Participants (N=622) were selected from nurses working in eight Ministry of Health hospitals in Turkey. Participants were surveyed with a Sexual Harassment Questionnaire, consisting of the sociodemographic characteristics of participants, types of sexual harassment, sources, feelings, ramifications, and ways to cope with sexual harassment behaviors. Frequency and percentage distributions, chi-square, and logistic regression were used for data analysis. The results showed 37.1% of participants had been harassed sexually. Physicians were identified as the primary instigators of sexual harassment. The most common reactions against harassers were anger and fear; frequently reported negative effects of sexual harassment were disturbed mental health function, decline in job performance, and headache. "Did nothing" was the coping method used most commonly by the nurses. About 80% of sexually harassed nurses did not report the incident of sexual harassment to hospital administration. The lower working status and power of nurses in the workplace, poor working conditions in healthcare settings, and insufficient administrative mechanisms, including the present law and regulations against sexual harassers, were identified as important factors in the work environment in Turkey.

The Experience of Whistleblowers in the Workplace: A Sexual Harassment Perspective

Sexual harassment is devastating.It damages people, destroys careers, and a high costs to organizations.Whistle blowing towards sexual harassment is one of the ways to curb such unethical behaviors at workplace This paper in particular focuses on the factors related to whistleblower’s experience and anticipation towards complaining sexual harassment behaviors at workplace. It uses a meta critique approach based on various studies that was conducted among public sector employees.The discussion will bring forward the findings related to experience and anticipation of whistleblowers, in particular the refusal to take complaints seriously, risk to the complainant and the lack of meaningful sanctions for the perpetrator and the importance of social support in the organization.Finally various strategies in encouraging whistleblowers towards sexual harassment will be discussed in an effort to create a healthy and ethical workplace.

Further examination and refinement of the psychometric properties of the MEOCS with data from reserve component personnel

Abstract We examined the factor structure and psychometric properties of equal opportunity climate (EOC) scales of the Military Equal Opportunity Climate Survey (MEOCS) with data from reserve component personnel. We tested a five-factor model and examined validity evidence for the 50-item version and a shortened 17-item version of the EOC scales in two separate studies ( N 1 = 210 ; N 2 = 951 ). Results of confirmatory factor analyses supported four of the five hypothesized factors, which included sexual harassment behaviors (SHB), differential command behaviors, positive command behaviors (PCB) and racist–sexist behaviors (RSB). Validity evidence suggested that while positive perceptions of EOC were associated with increased levels of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and perceived workgroup effectiveness; positive command behaviors and SHB were the strongest predictors of these outcomes in Study 1; whereas PCB and RSB were the strongest predictors of these outcomes in Study 2. The findings provide empirical support for the EOC scale for the reserve component and suggest the EO climate, as operationalized and measured in the MEOCS, can be measured with a brief 17-item version of the EOC scales.

Perceived differences in sexual harassment between business school students in the US and Thailand

PurposeThis study seeks to examine differences in the perceptions of sexual harassment between business school students in the USA and Thailand.Design/methodology/approachSenior‐level business students from both the USA (228 students) and Thailand (260 students) were surveyed regarding their perceptions of what constituted sexual harassment behaviour. After reading different workplace scenarios, the participants used a Likert‐type scale to rank different behaviours as to what they felt constituted sexual harassment. The survey scores were factor‐analyzed in order to determine the constructs underlying the variety of sexual harassment behaviours.FindingsStudents in the USA viewed sexual harassment as involving a quid quo pro situation in which one's behaviour affects the terms of employment (sexual coercion), and a hostile environment in which certain behaviours and remarks create a hostile or offensive work environment. In comparison, the Thai students also viewed behaviours that create a hostile or offensive environment as constituting harassment, but also considered sexually explicit language and jokes to be very offensive, and as constituting a form of sexual coercion.Research limitations/implicationsThis study used only one data collection method, specifically, a survey instrument. Also, this study examined differences between US subjects and subjects from only one Far Eastern country. Thus, the results may not be generalizable to other East Asian countries.Practical implicationsAs US businesses begin to expand into the Far East, it is imperative that we understand the nature of sexual harassment perceptions in these Far East countries.Originality/valueThis paper provides evidence that the perception of what constitutes sexual harassment varies across cultures.

Sexual Harassment on the Internet

Sexual harassment offline is a well-known, highly prevalent, extensively investigated, and intensively treated social problem. An accepted model classifies sexual harassment behaviors into the categories of gender harassment, unwanted sexual attention, and sexual coercion. Theory and research show that sexual harassment behavior occurs as a product of person · situation characteristics and has substantial personal and organizational costs. This article reviews the available information on sexual harassment in cyberspace, equates this phenomenon with what has been learned about sexual harassment offline, points to specific characteristics of online culture and technology that reinforce the behavior, and proposes ways of promoting prevention.

Sexual harassment of nurses and nursing students.

Nursing has dealt with sexual harassment long before the term was coined during the 1970s. The current study investigated sexual harassment of nurses and nursing students in Israel following new legislation against sexual harassment in the workplace. A self-report questionnaire was administered to 281 nurses and 206 nursing students (80% women) from five medical centres in Israel. Seven types of sexual harassment behaviour patterns were evaluated. Frequency of sexual harassment decreased as the behaviour became more intimate and offensive. Ninety percent of subjects reported experiencing at least one type of sexual harassment and 30% described at least four types. A significant difference was found between nurses and nursing students. Furthermore, "severe" types of behaviour were experienced by 33% of nurses, in comparison with 23% of nursing students. Women were significantly more exposed than men to "mild" and "moderate" types of sexual harassment, while 35% of men vs. 26% of women were exposed to "severe" types of harassment. However, women responded significantly more assertively than men to "severe" sexual harassment. Particular attention is needed when sexual harassment occurs to male students and nurses because they may be subjected to the more offensive sexual conducts and at the same time may lack the ability to respond assertively.

The Multidimensional Nature of Sexual Harassment

Little information is available concerning women's formal complaints of sexual harassment. Using data from sexual harassment complaints lodged with the Canadian Human Rights Commission between 1978 and 1993, this research attempts to address two concerns: (a) What types of sexual harassment behaviors are experienced by women complainants? and (b) Are these experiences of sexual harassment characterized by isolated or multidimensional incidents? The research shows that women complainants experience a range of behaviors, with quid pro quo harassment occurring in only 14% of the complaints. Complaints are also found to have a multidimensional nature and can be characterized as either containing poisoned environment harassment or quid pro quo sexual behaviors.

Sexual harassment as cycles of trauma reenactment and sexual compulsivity

This article discusses relevant clinical issues of the sexual harassment behaviors faced by clinicians. Using the sexual addiction model, attachment theory, trauma research, and theory and research on incestuous behavior, sexual harassment is explained as escalating cycles of trauma reenactment. Sexually addictive behavior is the route that creates the reenactment. Relationships with a power differential at their core are opportunities for individuals to unconsciously act out unresolved incest, disturbed attachment, and bonding issues. Primary and secondary victims result from sexual harassment. The reenactments and compulsive cycles are results of patterns of behavior and are not easily modified by employment policies alone. Due to the complexity of trauma-induced addictive behavior and attachment disorders, sexual harassment patterns require extensive and multi-dimensional treatment strategies for amelioration.

Sexual-Harassment Liability in 1998

In June 1998 the U.S. Supreme Court issued three separate rulings regarding workplace sexual harassment. In an apparent victory for employers, the court ruled in one case that a victim must actually suffer a tangible loss (i.e., a demotion or unwelcome transfer) to establish a case for quid pro quo harassment. The court affirmed, moreover, that employers can absolve themselves of liability in hostile-environment cases by establishing a meaningful and effective policy against sexual harassment. Absent a meaningful policy, however, employers will be liable for a hostile environment created by supervisors. Thus, in another case, the court found an employer liable for workplace harassment because the employer pp. 14-21 failed to disseminate its existing policy and to follow its terms. Finally, in a same-sex harassment case, the court rejected the notion that egregious sexual harassment is per se unlawful, leaving open the possibility that a harasser who treats men and women equally, no matter how badly, could be found not guilty of unlawful behavior. Still, the court made it clear that an employer's best defense against supervisors' sexual-harassment behavior is an effective prevention policy. Consequently, employers should draft a policy that (1) defines sexual harassment; (2) states the company prohibits such conduct; (3) provides a clear procedure for submitting claims, including the names of individuals involved in the resolution process; (4) states that those who complain or cooperate with an investigation will not be retaliated against; and (5) is disseminated to all new employees when they join the company, reissued to all employees each year, and posted in a conspicuous location in the workplace.

Sexual-harassment liability in 1998—goods news or bad news for employers and employees?

In June 1998 the U.S. Supreme Court issued three separate rulings regarding workplace sexual harassment. In an apparent victory for employers, the court ruled in one case that a victim must actually suffer a tangible loss (i.e., a demotion or unwelcome transfer) to establish a case for quid pro quo harassment. The court affirmed, moreover, that employers can absolve themselves of liability in hostile-environment cases by establishing a meaningful and effective policy against sexual harassment. Absent a meaningful policy, however, employers will be liable for a hostile environment created by supervisors. Thus, in another case, the court found an employer liable for workplace harassment because the employer failed to disseminate its existing policy and to follow its terms. Finally, in a same-sex harassment case, the court rejected the notion that egregious sexual harassment is per se unlawful, leaving open the possibility that a harasser who treats men and women equally, no matter how badly, could be found not guilty of unlawful behavior. Still, the court made it clear that an employer's best defense against supervisors' sexual-harassment behavior is an effective prevention policy. Consequently, employers should draft a policy that (1) defines sexual harassment; (2) states the company prohibits such conduct; (3) provides a clear procedure for submitting claims, including the names of individuals involved in the resolution process; (4) states that those who complain or cooperate with an investigation will not be retaliated against; and (5) is disseminated to all new employees when they join the company, reissued to all employees each year, and posted in a conspicuous location in the workplace.

A theoretical integration of sexual harassment models

Reports research statistics that reveal that half of all working women are likely to suffer some form of sexual harassment during their careers, particularly those in non‐traditional posts. Outlines different explanatory theories for sexual harassment proposed in current literature, focusing in particular on socio‐cultural, organizational and individual differences models, and seeks to examine the interaction between various factors identified. Discusses the main effects of power distance, attitudes towards women and gender/job match on sexual harassment, and develops models of sexual harassment behaviour to examine the interaction between these three factors for women with male supervisors in traditional and non‐traditional roles, identifying the circumstances in which quid pro quo and hostile environment sexual harassment are most likely and most unlikely to occur. Illustrates how the different factors involved foster different kinds of sexual harassment at different levels of severity, and concludes that multiple strategies are required to address such behaviour.

An empirical examination of same- and other-gender sexual harassment in the workplace

This study examines sexual harassment (SH) whichinvolves members of the same gender, either male orfemale. Data are taken from the 1988 Department ofDefense Survey of Sex Roles in the Active Duty Military. Separate comparisons for male (38% White, 31%Black, and 31% ‘other’) and female (48%White, 27% Black, and 25% ‘other’) targetsare made between sameand other-gender SH related to fourmajor components of a conceptual model proposed by Fitzgerald,Drasgow, Hulin, Gelfand, & Magley (1997). Thesecomponents include sexual harassment behaviors, personalvulnerability, target response styles, and consequences of the SH for the target. The sexualorientation of targets and perpetrators is notconsidered because data were unavailable. Results reveala number of meaningful differences between sameandother-gender SH. The most striking result is that maletargets of same-gender SH experience consequences thatare significantly more pervasive and severe than thoseexperienced by male targets of other-gender SH.Organizational implications are discussed.

Sexual Harassment of Health Education Faculty by Co-Worker(s): Implications for the Profession

Abstract This study was conducted to determine the nature and prevalence of sexual harassment of health education faculty by co-worker(s) in U.S. colleges and universities. Their perceptions of, and attitudes toward, sexual harassment were examined. A 90-item questionnaire was mailed to a stratified random sample, including 239 full-time faculty involved in programs with undergraduate and graduate health education programs listed in the 1992 ESG Directory. Results indicated that nearly 90 percent of the respondents experienced sexual harassment behaviors. Gender harassment behaviors were reported most frequently, followed by unwanted sexual attention, and sexual coercion and attempted sexual assault. More males than females failed to recognize/label these behaviors as sexual harassment (p<.05). Most of the co-workers engaging in the behaviors were of the opposite gender (90 percent). For females, 66 percent of the incidents reported were by a co-worker of a higher rankthan the respondent, while for males,...

Sexual Harassment In Chemistry Classrooms: Three Students' Experiences

Issues of sexual bias and harassment are serious ones for all educators, but perhaps are of the greatest concern for science educators due to the serious underrepresentation of women in scientific fields. Female students are receiving both overt and covert messages from many directions that are turning them away from choices that might lead to science careers, and many of these messages come directly from their science teachers. Sexual harassment is a new and uncharted issue for society in general and educators specifically. This article deals with sexual bias and harassment behaviors of teachers that potentially impede the success and participation of female students in science.

The Naive Misuse of Power: Nonconscious Sources of Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is considered from the perspective of power abuse in general. Recent research on sexually aggressive men has underscored the importance of power and dominance as a motivator of their behavior toward women. One striking feature of both sexual harassment and the misuse of power is the lack of awareness offenders often show regarding the inappropriateness of their actions. This lack of awareness is similar to automatic or nonconscious effects demonstrated in social perception and judgment research, such as the unintentional influence of one's stereotypes informing impressions of others. The possibility that having power within a situation automatically and nonconsciously triggers a sexuality schema, just as racial or gender features automatically trigger stereotypes of that group, is discussed and supporting research is described. It is shown, for example, that for men likely to sexually harass, merely activating the concept of power without their knowledge causes them to find the same woman more attractive. The possible origins of the automatic power → sex link, and its implications for preventing sexual harassment behavior, are discussed.