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What Is Sexual Harassment?
Sexual harassment includes “any unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that is unwelcome and unwanted and is directed at an individual because of his or her sex and is so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it interferes with the ability of the victim to receive an education; when submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment; submission or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for school or employment decisions affecting the individual; or such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s education and work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive learning and working environment.”
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Sexual Harassment Constitutes a Civil Rights Violation
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: Title VII applies to all organizations with more than 15 employees. Title VII orbids discrimination in employment based on race, color, religion, national origin, handicapped status or sex. Sexual harassment is a form of discrimination.
Title IX of the Education Amendments Of 1972: Title IX applies to all educational institutions who receive, or whose students receive, any federal funding. Title IX forbids discrimination on the basis of sex.
Supreme Court Decisions:
A hostile environment has been created if a reasonable person in the victim’s situation would find the behavior offensive, and the sex of the victim is a relevant variable in making this judgment. The intent of the perpetrator is not a factor in determining whether or not harassment has occurred. The impact of the behavior is the critical factor.
A person no longer has to demonstrate that he or she was harmed by the harassment, only that the perpetrator created a hostile environment or committed quid pro quo offenses. Institutions and organizations can be held legally responsible for sexual harassment if they knew, or should have known, that it was occurring and did not take all reasonable measures to remedy and prevent it. Even if the organization did not know (or should not have known) about the harassment, it is liable for damages if the harasser is a supervisor.
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Forms of Sexual Harassment
There are Two Forms of Sexual Harassment:
Quid Pro Quo (“This For That”): Employment or educational decisions that are made on the condition that a person accept unwelcome sexual behavior. A quid pro quo harassment behavior is chargeable even if it happens only once.
Hostile Environment: Pervasive sex-related verbal or physical conduct that is unwelcome or offensive, and that has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with the employee’s or the student’s work or school performance. In order to be chargeable, hostile environment must either be extreme or “sustained and non-trivial”.
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Sexual Harassment Is Unwelcomed and Unwanted Sexual Behavior
Sexual harassment happens when one person uses sexual words, gestures, looks, or touches that may make another person feel uncomfortable or unsafe. Sexual harassment is a form of discrimination. It means that someone is treated differently because of his or her gender. It may be repeated or it may be very offensive on a one-time basis. It is usually intentional, but sometimes people don’t know that they are sexually harassing another person. Anyone can be harassed. Anyone can be a harasser.
Harassment is NEVER the fault of the victim. Some people harass others when they feel badly about themselves or need to have power and control over others. Even if the person experiencing the behavior does not seem to be upset, it is sexual harassment if it makes others feel unsafe or uncomfortable.
Ignoring sexual harassment will not make it stop. In some cases, ignoring it will only make it worse because the harasser may think that the behavior is okay.
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Examples of Harassment
Sexual Harassment includes such unwelcome behaviors as:
Physical
- Pinching, fondling, gesturing
- Grabbing, cornering, mauling
- Touching or rubbing against a person
- Standing too close
- Patting, hugging, kissing
- Bumping into someone on purpose
- Blocking a person’s path or hindering a person’s movements
- Standing closer than appropriate or necessary
Visual
- Sexually explicit or derogatory photos, drawings, cartoons,magazines, posters, graffiti, novelties, mugs, statues or trinkets
- Making sexually suggestive gestures
- Staring at someone's body or looking a person up and down
- Maintaining flirtatious eye contact
- Leering, winking, throwing kisses or licking lips
- Sexually oriented letters or notes
- Touching or rubbing oneself sexually in view of another person
- Exposing oneself
- Graffiti about a person’s sexuality
- Threats or sexual bribery
Insults
- Sexually offensive jokes or comments
- Pressuring someone for a date, drinks or sexual relations
- Whistles or rude noises
- Spreading sexual rumors
- Comments about a person’s body
- Lewd or suggestive remarks
- Asking about sexual experiences, fantasies or preferences
- Conversation with sexual overtones
- Telephone calls of a sexual nature
- Calling people sexually oriented names such as hunk, doll, babe or honey
- Name calling, such as “bitch”, “whore” or “slut”
Sexual harassment can also include unwelcomed behaviors such as someone:
- Constantly inviting you for drinks, dinners, dates,
- Invading your personal space while working together;
- Making obvious sexual gestures at you,
- Asking questions about your personal and/or sexual life,
- Writing, drawings and/or sending graffiti, pictures, cartoons and/or cards which are sexually offensive to you,
- Exerting subtle pressure to coerce you into sexual interactions;
- Kissing you without your consent at school, parties with peers or at business events;
- Touching rubs or grabs at your body.
- Creates a hostile environment toward women or men, i.e., jokes, comments, cartoons, pictures of a sexual nature posted in your school, college, university or workplace.
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Feelings Caused By Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment can cause you to feel:
- Powerlessness, helplessness, guilt and anger,
- Self-blame, depression, lowered self-esteem,
- Isolation- because family, friends and co-workers don’t understand and/or minimize the victimization; rejection by peers,
- Concern about one’s mental and physical well-being.
At school, college/university sexual harassment can cause:
- Inability to concentrate,
- Lower grades, Withdrawal from curses,
- Changing majors,
- Absenteeism,
- Dropping out of school
In the workplace sexual harassment can cause:
- Decreased productivity,
- Denial of advancement and/or benefits,
- Retaliation by harasser,
- Loss of income or job.
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What To Do If You Are Harassed
- If you feel uncomfortable and/or think that someone’s behavior is inappropriate, trust your own judgment.
- Stand up for yourself. Look the person in the eye and speak in a strong clear voice.
- Inform the harasser verbally, or in writing, that his/her behavior is unwelcome. Tell the harasser to STOP! Make it clear that you don’t like the behavior. Keep a copy of any written communication sent to the harasser.
- Talk to family members, friends and/or co-workers whom you believe you can trust and whom will be supportive. Ask for help, support and guidance. Everyone needs to talk to someone who cares. Don’t remain silent. Don’t carry the burden alone.
- Become familiar with the sexual harassment policies and grievance/complaint procedures in your school and/or workplace and resources, such as the West Virginia Human Rights Commission or the US Department of Education Office of Civil Rights.
- Write down details of what happened. Be sure to include who did it, what the person did, when it happened, where it happened and who saw what happened.
- Report it. File a formal complaint if the harassment continues.
- Take legal action. When no other recourse exists, you may choose to file a lawsuit under federal law Title IX.
Depending on the situation, you may have the right to file a complaint with one of the following:
- West Virginia Human Rights Commission
(304) 558-2616
- West Virginia Department of Education
(304) 558-3401
- U.S. Department Of Education Office of Civil Rights
(215) 656-8541
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How Often Does Sexual Harassment Occur?
- 4 out of 5 students (81%) have experienced some form of sexual harassment during their school lives. (Hostile Hallways, American Association of University Women 1993).
- There were 6,127 complaints of sexual harassment filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 1990. 15,342 complaints were filed with the EEOC in 1996. This represents an increase of 280% in the last six years. (EEOC Sexual Harassment Statistics, EEOC & FEPAs Combined: FY 1990 - FY 1996).
- Women are nine times more likely than men to quit jobs because of sexual harassment, five times more likely to transfer and three times more likely to lose jobs. (“Impact of Work Experiences Toward Sexual Harassment”, Allison M. Konrad and Barbara A. Gutek, in Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 31, September 1986).
- In a content analysis of 48 hours of prime time television programs, findings suggest that sexual harassment is prevalent within this medium. Overall, 84% of the shows studied contained at least one incident of sexual harassment or sexually offensive behavior, with an average of 3.4 incidents. In none of these programs was the behavior specifically labeled as sexual harassment. The manner in which sexual harassment is portrayed on prime time television implies that such actions are not serious, that victims are not seriously affected by the harassment, and that harassment can be prevented if victims would resist. resist (“Prime Time Sexual Harassment”, Elizabeth Grauerholz and Amy King, in Violence Against Women, Vol 3, No 2, April 1997, Sage Periodicals Press).
- In a study of 2,000 female students, 89% reported experiencing inappropriate sexual comments, gestures and looks; 83% were touched, grabbed or pinched; 40% reported these incidents occurred daily at school. (Secrets in Public: Sexual Harassment in Our Schools, Nan Stein, et al., Center for Research on Women, Wellesley College and NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund, 1993).
- Nearly half of the 832 working women in researcher Barbara Guteck's 1985 study said they had been harassed. None took any legal action. Only 22% told anybody about the harassment. (The 9to5 Guide to Combating Sexual Harassment, Ellen Bravo and Ellen Cassedy.
New York
: John Wiley and Sons, 1992).
- In a 1994 survey of federal workers, 44% of women and 19% of men reported they experienced some form of unwanted sexual attention within the preceding two years. (Sexual Harassment in the Federal Workplace, the U.S. Merit Systems Protections Board’s report to the President and Congress, 1995). Only 6% of those experiencing sexual harassment took formal action. The most common reason given by those who did not take formal action was they did not think the situation was serious enough to warrant it.
- Sexual harassment in the federal workplace cost the government an estimated $327 million during the two-year period from April 1992 to April 1994. (U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, 1995).
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