Understanding Sexual Harassment
Facts and Figures
The Impact on Victims
Understanding Sexual Harassment
Both women and men harbor misconceptions about sexual harassment. Getting the facts is essential to combating sexual harassment on campus.
Did you know?
- Sexual harassment includes verbal, nonverbal, and physical behavior.
- Unwanted and unwelcome lewd jokes, gender-based slurs, and sexual contact all represent examples of sexual harassment.
- Behavior that creates a sexually hostile learning or working environment is also sexual harassment.
- Sexual harassment can occur between people of the same sex.
- Whether the harassment occurs between a man and a women or people of the same sex, it’s still against the law. Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc., 523 U.S. 75 (1998)
- The victim of sexual harassment does not have to be the person directly harassed but could be anyone affected by the offensive conduct. (EEOC)
Facts and Figures
AAUW Educational Foundation research on sexual harassment, Drawing the Line, shows that…
| 62% | of female college students and 61% of male college students report having been sexually harassed at their university. (17) |
| 66% | of college students know someone personally who was harassed. (14) |
| 10% | or less of student sexual harassment victims attempt to report their experiences to a university employee. (2) |
| 35% | or more of college students who experience sexual harassment do not tell anyone about their experiences. (18) |
| 80% | of students who experienced sexual harassment report being harassed by another student or former student. (20) |
| 39% | of students who experienced sexual harassment say the incident or incidents occurred in the dorm. (15) |
| 51% | of male college students admit to sexually harassing someone in college, with 22% admitting to harassing someone often or occasionally. (22) |
| 31% | of female college students admit to harassing someone in college. (22) |
The Impact on Victims
Physical and emotional
| 68% | of female students felt very or somewhat upset by sexual harassment they experienced; only 6% were not at all upset. (27-28) |
| 57% | of female students who have been sexually harassed reported feeling self-conscious or embarrassed (29) |
| 55% | of female students who have been sexually harassed reported feeling angry. (29) |
| 32% | female students who have been sexually harassed reported feeling afraid or scared. (29) |
Academics and achievement
Students experience a wide range of effects from sexual harassment that impact their academics including: have trouble sleeping, loss of appetite, decreased participation in class, avoid a study group, think about changing schools, change schools, avoid the library, change major, not gone to a professor/ teaching assistant’s office hours. Students may experience multiple effects or just one. The wide range of experiences lowers the percentage of students who experience any particular effect.
| 16% | of female students who have been sexually harassed found it hard to study or pay attention in class. (31) |
| 9% | of female students dropped a course or skipped a class in response to sexual harassment. (31) |
| 27% | of female students stay away from particular buildings or places on campus as a result of sexual harassment. (31) |
Note: All links verified December 2005.
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