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Sexual Harassment

Updated: May 18

ONE IN TEN FEMALE GRADUATE STUDENTS AT MAJOR RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES REPORT BEING SEXUALLY HARASSED BY A FACULTY MEMBER. [source]

Sexual harassment in academia refers to unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal, non-verbal, or physical conduct of a sexual nature that creates a hostile or inequitable academic or professional environment. This type of abuse undermines trust, safety, and equal access to opportunities in education.


Examples of Academic Sexual Harassment


Quid Pro Quo Harassment

Definition: When academic or professional benefits are conditioned on submission to sexual advances or favors.

  • Examples for Students:

    • A professor offers a better grade in exchange for a date.

    • A research advisor implies funding for a project depends on personal interactions.

    • A teaching assistant pressures a student for romantic involvement, leveraging their grading authority.

  • Examples for Employees:

    • A department head promises tenure or a promotion in return for sexual favors.

    • A supervisor makes inappropriate advances during professional development events.

    • A colleague suggests career support in exchange for a personal relationship.

Hostile Environment Harassment

Definition: Unwanted sexual behavior that creates an intimidating, offensive, or abusive environment.

  • Examples for Students:

    • A professor makes inappropriate comments about a student’s appearance during class.

    • A student receives explicit messages from a peer, making them feel unsafe in their shared workspace.

    • Sexualized jokes are frequently made in a lab or group project setting.

  • Examples for Employees:

    • Repeated sexual innuendos or jokes during departmental meetings.

    • Displaying explicit material in shared office spaces.

    • A faculty member targeting a colleague with derogatory comments about their sexual orientation or identity.

Power-Differential Exploitation

Definition: Sexual harassment that arises from an abuse of power or authority in hierarchical relationships, such as between professors and students, or administrators and employees.

  • Examples for Students:

    • A professor singles out a student for personal attention under the guise of mentorship but uses it as an opportunity for inappropriate behavior.

    • A research advisor pressures a student to attend social gatherings that involve inappropriate behavior.

    • A faculty member suggests that rejecting advances could harm a student’s academic reputation.

  • Examples for Employees:

    • A supervisor consistently makes suggestive comments during performance evaluations.

    • A senior colleague leverages their influence to pressure a junior faculty member into a personal relationship.

    • An administrator creates an expectation of sexual favors in exchange for favorable treatment.

Gender-Based Harassment

Definition: Harassment based on a person’s gender, gender identity, or gender expression, often involving sexist remarks or discriminatory behavior.

  • Examples for Students:

    • A professor belittles female students’ capabilities compared to male peers.

    • A student is harassed for their gender identity in group projects or labs.

    • Derogatory remarks about a student’s choice of field due to gender stereotypes (e.g., “Women don’t belong in engineering”).

  • Examples for Employees:

    • A transgender faculty member is repeatedly misgendered by colleagues, even after correction.

    • Female faculty are excluded from informal networking events where decisions are made.

    • Non-binary staff members face jokes or derogatory comments about their gender expression.

Cyber Harassment

Definition: Sexual harassment that occurs through digital platforms, including email, social media, or other online communication tools.

  • Examples for Students:

    • A professor sends inappropriate emails or messages to a student outside of academic discussions.

    • A student is targeted with sexually explicit comments or images in group chats.

    • Anonymous online harassment directed at a student who speaks out about gender issues.

  • Examples for Employees:

    • An administrator sends suggestive or inappropriate messages to a staff member after hours.

    • Harassing comments on faculty research posted online, targeting their gender or identity.

    • A colleague shares inappropriate or explicit content in work-related digital spaces.

Third-Party Sexual Harassment

Definition: Harassment that involves individuals outside of the direct academic environment but impacts students or employees within it (e.g., external collaborators, guest lecturers, or contractors).

  • Examples for Students:

    • A guest speaker makes inappropriate comments to a student during a lecture or event.

    • An industry collaborator on a research project targets a student with unwanted advances.

    • A recruiter at a campus career fair engages in suggestive behavior toward a student.

  • Examples for Employees:

    • A visiting scholar harasses junior faculty during a research collaboration.

    • A contractor working on campus directs inappropriate comments toward staff members.

    • External reviewers use inappropriate language when evaluating faculty performance.

Vicarious Sexual Harassment

Definition: When an individual instigates or enables others to engage in sexual harassment on their behalf, whether through coercion, manipulation, or indirect influence.

  • Examples for Students:

    • A professor encourages other students to exclude a target from academic opportunities or events after rejecting their advances.

    • A student convinces peers to repeatedly comment on another student’s appearance or sexuality, creating discomfort.

    • A faculty member uses group discussions or assignments as opportunities for others to make sexually inappropriate remarks toward a student.

  • Examples for Employees:

    • A senior professor pressures junior faculty to criticize or ostracize a colleague who reported sexual harassment.

    • A department head directs staff to spread inappropriate rumors about an employee’s personal life.

    • A supervisor encourages subordinates to flirt with or sexually proposition a coworker, setting the stage for harassment.

Institutional Harassment

Definition: When institutional practices or systemic behaviors enable or perpetuate harassment, even indirectly.

  • Examples for Students:

    • A university fails to address known harassment cases, creating a hostile environment.

    • A student faces harassment due to inadequate protections in dormitory policies.

    • Persistent delays in investigating harassment complaints leave students vulnerable.

  • Examples for Employees:

    • A lack of action against repeat offenders creates a culture of harassment.

    • Policies that trivialize harassment complaints discourage employees from reporting.

    • An institution shields high-profile faculty members from consequences, enabling further abuse.




What Can Institutions Do Better?

  • Strengthen Reporting Systems: Institutions should provide accessible, anonymous, and transparent channels for reporting sexual harassment.

  • Enforce Policies Against Retaliation: Protect individuals who report harassment from further harm or career setbacks.

  • Provide Training and Awareness Programs: Educate students, faculty, and staff about what constitutes harassment and how to prevent it.

  • Monitor and Evaluate Campus Culture: Conduct regular climate surveys to identify and address systemic issues related to sexual harassment.

  • Support Survivors: Establish dedicated resources, such as counseling services and advocacy offices, for individuals affected by harassment.





What to Do if You Suspect Sexual Harassment?

Ask yourself these questions:

  • Know Your Rights: Familiarize yourself with university policies on discrimination.

  • Document the Behavior: Record dates, times, and descriptions of incidents, including witnesses and communications. If you at any point in time feel unsafe, you are permitted by law to record the conversation. Check your university's privacy policy beforehand.

  • Seek Campus Support Personnel: Ombudsman are a good first stop before filing an official complaint. Ombudsman are a confidential resource, and they will be able to act as a "thought partner" in helping you navigate your official and unofficial options. Talk to them about additional support personnel on your campus, such as student affairs, for example. Your campus may have additional support, and an ombud is a great place to start figuring out your options.

  • Seek Personal Support: Connect with trusted mentors, colleagues, or campus resources like counseling centers or advocacy offices.

  • Build a Network of Allies: Find others who have experienced or witnessed similar behaviors to strengthen your case and build solidarity.

  • The Three-Part Letter to the Harasser: This strategy comes from a 1981 Harvard Business Review article, cited in The Lecherous Professor (p. 165). This option may be risky, but if chosen, it lays groundwork for legal proceedings, and may help you prove that you actively sought to curtail the harassment.

    • Part 1: The facts as you see them, in detail

    • Part 2: Describe your feelings about the alleged harassment and any perceived or actual damages inflicted on you.

    • Part 3: What you would like to have happen next.

    • If the harassment continues, Billie Wright Dziech and Linda Weiner (authors of The Lecherous Professor) recommend that you repeat this letter, and add a fourth part stating that if the behavior continues, you will file a report with the department head, the dean, or some other authority if your prior request is ignored.

  • Report the Harassment: File a complaint through your institution’s Title IX office, grievance channels, or external agencies like the EEOC. While you can go to your department chair as a first step, bear in mind that each stakeholder in the university has an agenda. If the chair is unresponsive, this is a sign that the agenda is to manage the department's reputation or "keep the peace" at all costs. Reporting to institutional channels like Title IX offices or HR departments will require persistence and documentation. Title IX offices and HR departments will require evidence in order to "investigate" fairly. This is where your "three-part letter" may come in useful. If you choose to report, be sure to keep a close watch for retaliation. If you feel you are being retaliated against, once again, document everything, and file additional reports if you feel safe doing so.

  • Report the Harassment Externally: You may choose to bypass internal reporting on campus, or choose to file external reports in addition to those filed internally. There are many options, and you must weigh what is best for you and your situations. If you choose to report externally, consider the following resources as first options.

    • Office of Civil Rights (OCR).

    • Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

  • Consult Legal Counsel: Explore your options with legal experts, particularly if institutional responses are inadequate.



Additional Information

Articles and Research

"This review includes over 300 cases obtained from: (1) media reports; (2) federal civil rights investigations by the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice; (3) lawsuits by students alleging sexual harassment; and (4) lawsuits by tenure-track faculty fired for sexual harassment."


The Professor Is In: A Crowdsourced Survey of Sexual Harassment in the Academy

In December 2017, Dr. Karen Kelsky launched an anonymous, crowdsourced survey to document experiences of sexual harassment within academia. The initiative aimed to shed light on the pervasive issue by allowing individuals to share their stories confidentially, thereby highlighting the systemic nature of such misconduct in academic settings. The collected narratives underscore the entrenched power dynamics and cultural factors that enable harassment, emphasizing the need for comprehensive reforms to foster a safer and more equitable academic environment.

"Sexual harassment is rampant in the academy as it is in every other industry.  The entrenched hierarchies of the academic world, the small size of most scholarly fields, the male dominance of virtually every field other than women’s studies, the culture of collegiality (read, evasiveness and pretense) that predominates, and junior scholars’ desperate dependency on good references for career advancement, make for conditions in which sexual abuse (and indeed abuse of all kinds) can flourish with impunity."

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