Sexual Harassment

Definition

The term sexual harassment came into use in the U.S. federal courts in the 1970s to describe a form of gender-based discrimination in the workplace. There are two legally recognized forms of workplace sexual harassment: quid pro quo and hostile environment sexual harassment. In quid pro quo, unwanted sex or genderrelated behavior constitutes a term or condition of employment or advancement at work. For example, an employer might require employees to tolerate the employer's sexual advances to maintain employment or gain promotions. In hostile environment, unwelcome sex or gender-related behavior creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. For example, employees might be offended by their coworkers' displays of pornography in the workplace. U.S. law also recognizes sexual harassment as a form of discrimination in academic settings and in obtaining fair housing. Although U.S. law does not stipulate the gender of either perpetrator or target of sexual harassment, most perpetrators historically have been male and most targets have been female. Central to the legal definition of sexual harassment is the notion that sexual harassment is unwelcome or unwanted behavior. Whether a behavior is deemed unwelcome ultimately depends on the interpretations made by the target of the behavior. In discerning whether something constitutes sexual harassment, U.S. courts consider whether a reasonable person similar to the target would judge such a behavior to be unwelcome under similar circumstances. Internationally, there are variations in both the legal and lay understanding of sexual harassment across countries. However, since the term was first coined in the United States, the meaning of sexual harassment in other countries has generally been influenced by its roots in the U.S. legal system.

Research

Most of the early studies of sexual harassment within social science were primarily aimed at capturing the sexually harassing experiences of women in the workplace. Although different survey researchers have devised different ways of operationally defining sexual harassment, the most common experience of sexually harassing behavior reported by women in the workplace is generally called gender harassment. Gender harassment is essentially the overt sexist treatment of women at work. It may include such things as being told that women are incapable of performing a job because they are women, having to endure a litany of offensive and sexist epithets from coworkers or supervisors, or being inundated with offensive pornoGraphic images at work. The aim of gender harassment is not to gain sexual access to the target; rather, it is to express hostile attitudes based on a target's gender. The next most common experience reported by working women in surveys is called unwanted sexual attention. This type of sexual harassment may include verbal behavior such as persistent requests for dates despite rejection and nonverbal behavior such as unwelcome sexual touching, conspicuous leering, and sexually suggestive gestures. The third and rarest type of sexually harassing behavior documented from surveys of female workers is called sexual coercion. Sexual coercion is essentially synonymous with the legal term quid pro quo sexual harassment. It is attempting to use threats or bribes to gain sexual access to a target. As research began to explore men as well as women as the potential targets of sexually harassing behavior, it became clear that even though men were less often targeted, a significant portion of men also experienced such behavior. In addition, a form of gender harassment sometimes called gender role enforcement or challenges to sexual identity was identified as an experience for men. This form of sexually harassing behavior includes ridiculing men who do not conform to masculine stereotypes. More recent studies have found that women may also experience similar harassment and find it just as emotionally upsetting as men do.

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