Sexual harassment on college and university campuses has become a major concern. Briefly describe this form of harassment.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The AAU Survey reported that 47.7% of students had indicated that they had been victims of sexual harassment since being enrolled in college.

Two major problems in dealing with issues of sexual harassment in college are gender differences in levels of tolerance and attribution of blame. Women are often blamed for not taking a "compliment" and for provoking unwanted sexual attention by what they wear or how they look. These attitudes are widely held, especially among men.

Because of sexual harassment, many students, especially women students, find it difficult to study; others worry about their grades. If the harasser is an instructor controlling grades or a coach providing team leadership, students fear reporting the harassment. They may use strategies such as avoiding courses or sports taught by the harasser or choosing another advisor. In extreme cases, the emotional consequences may be as severe as for rape victims. However, many students, particularly women, view the dating of students by professors as unethical behavior rather than harassment.

Most universities and colleges have developed sexual harassment policies, most of which prohibit romantic/sexual relationships between students and professors. A fundamental principle of these policies is that the student-professor relationship cannot be truly consensual, given the professor's considerable power over the student's academic standing and career plans.