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Concept Version 10
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Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is intimidation, bullying, teasing, or coercion of a sexual nature.

Learning Objective

  • Explain when and how sexual harassment is prosecuted in the U.S.


Key Points

    • Sexual harassment is common in the workplace.
    • Sexual harassment happens any time intimidation, bullying, teasing, or coercion of a sexual nature occurs.
    • Sexual harassment is rarely formally charged in a legal context and individuals who do make such charges official are frequently ridiculed.

Term

  • sexual harassment

    intimidation, bullying, teasing, or coercion of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors.


Examples

    • The term sexual harassment was actually largely unknown until the early 1990s, when Anita Hill accused Justice Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment during the course of his Senate confirmation hearings for his position on the United States Supreme Court. The Anita Hill case provides an interesting case study of the backlash of accusations of sexual harassment and the strenuous tests that victims' claims undergo in the public eye.
    • In October 1991, Hill said that Thomas had sexually harassed her, as during her two years as Thomas's assistant, Thomas had asked her out socially several times and, upon her refusal, discussed sexual matters in the workplace.
    • Hill faced serious incredulity about her accusations. Four female witnesses were waiting to corroborate Hill's story, but none were called to testify before the Senate. In light of such opposition, Hill even agreed to take a polygraph to demonstrate her credibility. Though the veracity of such exams is questionable, Hill passed the polygraph. Not surprisingly, Thomas denied Hill's accusations and was eventually confirmed to the Supreme Court.
    • Even after Thomas was confirmed to the Supreme Court, the media continued to question Hill's accusations and crucify her reputation. The aftermath to Hill's testimony, from the ad hominem attacks to the professional backlash, reveals an unfortunate reality for many individuals who make public sexual harassment charges.

Full Text

Sexual harassment is intimidation, bullying, teasing, or coercion of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. In most legal contexts this type of behavior is criminalized. The person intimidating a victim about his or her sexuality could be male or female; men and women can both be perpetrators of sexual harassment. Sexual harassment does not have to be only of a sexual nature; indeed, sexual harassment includes unwelcome and offensive comments about a person's gender. Regardless of whether the content of the sexual harassment is about sex or gender, both victim and harasser can be either male or female and the victim and the harasser can be the same gender.

Though broad, the legal definition of sexual harassment does not include every injurious statement pertaining to sex or gender. The law does not prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that are not very serious. Sexual harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in adverse employment, such as the victim being fired or demoted. Rather than being a component of criminal law, sexual harassment is typically adjudicated as an issue of employment law. As one might guess, most of these cases turn on whether or not the offensive comment was "serious" or "offhand. " It is the law's job to decide if a comment that the victim clearly found serious and offhand is considered so legally.

Even though sexual harassment is less violent than other forms of sexual violence such as rape, victims still suffer serious consequences. Victimhood for individuals subjected to sexual harassment can take a different and equally complicated form as victimhood for individuals who suffer from attacks for physical violence. Sexual violence that is expressed in terms of some sort of physical assault against a victim has become a condemnable act; victims of physical violence are more likely to find others who are sympathetic to their understandable distress. However, sexual harassment is more socially acceptable. Victims will often encounter opposition who claim that the harassment was mere teasing. As such, victimhood in response to sexual harassment has some unique properties. Nevertheless, sexual harassment may lead to temporary or prolonged anxiety, depending on the nature of the harassment and the type of support system in place. Given that harassment is a common problem in the workplace, anxiety on the victim's part is usually tied into concerns about ramifications for one's career if one reports the harassment.

Black Noise: Intervention against sexual harassment

Black Noise, an Indian project countering sexual harassment on the streets of India, stages an intervention in a bus.

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