The impact of sexual harassment.

Gendered harassment, including sexual harassment and homophobic name-calling, is prevalent in adolescents and is linked to negative outcomes including depression, anxiety, suicidality, substance abuse, and personal distress. However, much of the extant literature is cross-sectional and rarely are perpetrators of these behaviors included in studies of outcomes. Therefore, the current study examined the effects of longitudinal changes in gendered harassment perpetration and victimization on changes in mental health outcomes among a large sample of early adolescents. Given that these behaviors commonly occur in the context of a patriarchal society (males hold power), we also investigated the impact of gender on gendered harassment. Participants included 3,549 students from four Midwestern middle schools (50.4% female, 49% African American, 34% White) at two time points (13 and 17 years old). Results indicated that increases from age 13 to 17 years in sexual harassment perpetration and victimization and homophobic name-calling perpetration and victimization predicted increases in depression symptoms and substance use. Gender did not moderate these pathways. These findings highlight that negative outcomes are associated with changes in gendered harassment among adolescents and emphasize the importance of prevention efforts. Implications for school interventions are discussed.

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Effects of a Perpetrator’s Physical Attractiveness, Socioeconomic Status and Gender on Behaviour Perception of the Participants of Sexual Harassment Situations

Psichologija ◽

10.15388/psichol.2019.9 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 60 ◽

pp. 58-71

Author(s):

Gabija Petrauskaitė ◽

Ksenija Čunichina

Keyword(s):

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Sexual Harassment ◽

Physical Attractiveness ◽

Modern Society ◽

Younger Adults ◽

Negative Appraisal ◽

Societal Changes ◽

Extralegal Factors ◽

And Gender ◽

The Impact

Sexual harassment is still a widespread problem in today’s modern society. Therefore, it is important to identify extralegal factors that shape society’s attitudes towards sexual harassment cases and why, sometimes, the victim of sexual harassment is being blamed for the situation. Most of the previous studies do not explore the causal relationship between the characteristics of the accused and the attitudes towards the cases. Moreover, the results of many existing studies are contradictory. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the impact of sex, physical attractiveness and socioeconomic status (SES) of the perpetrator on the attitudes towards sexual harassment situations. A hundred seventy-nine respondents participated in the study. During the research, a fictional news report and situation assessment scale were used. It was found that only a perpetrator’s physical attractiveness and socioeconomic status had a statistically significant impact on the appraisal of the perpetrator and victim’s behavior in the situation. The physical attractiveness of the perpetrator resulted in a statistically significant positive appraisal of his behavior and a more negative appraisal of the victim’s behavior. SES only had a statistically significant impact on the appraisal of perpetrator’s behavior: when the perpetrator was of high SES, his behavior in a sexual harassment situation was perceived more negatively than that of low SES. Results of this research not only emphasize the importance of extralegal factors on the attitudes toward the sexual harassment victims and perpetrators among younger adults, but also indicates possible societal changes – diminished gender and opposite SES effects on the attitudes toward the aforementioned situations.

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Sexual Harassment Laws and Their Impact on the Work Environment

Social Issues Surrounding Harassment and Assault ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-7036-3.ch037 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 657-683

Author(s):

Philippe W. Zgheib

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Sexual Harassment ◽

Work Environment ◽

The United States ◽

Judicial System ◽

Willingness To Disclose ◽

The Usa ◽

The Difference ◽

The Impact

This chapter examines the impact of sexual harassment laws in a work environment. Different contexts are examined with different sexual harassment laws. The most vulnerable individuals are identified. The particular case of Lebanon is inspected where few laws regulate this matter. A comparison is established with the USA. Lebanon and the United States have a different view of sexual harassment. In Lebanon, no clear laws protect women. In addition, Lebanon is more tolerant than the United States. The difference in cultures also contributes in people's willingness to disclose harassment. In the United States, people are used to the concept of right and a judicial system that preserves it. In Lebanon, such a matter is taboo, and people are discouraged from disclosing to preserve their reputation.

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Swedish Women’s Experiences of Misogynistic Hate Crimes: The Impact of Victimization on Fear of Crime

Feminist Criminology ◽

10.1177/1557085120957731 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 155708512095773

Author(s):

Mika Hagerlid

Keyword(s):

Sexual Harassment ◽

Fear Of Crime ◽

Hate Crime ◽

Hate Crimes ◽

Female Students ◽

Repeat Victimization ◽

Knowledge Gap ◽

Women’S Experiences ◽

Women's Experiences ◽

The Impact

The overall aim of this study is to fill a knowledge gap regarding misogynistic hate crimes, since only one previous study has focused on victims’ experiences. Drawing from a sample of 1,767 female students, the results show that women with experiences of misogynistic hate crimes are more likely to be subjected to sexual harassment, repeat victimization, and to have been targeted by strangers. They consistently report higher levels of fear of crime by comparison with both non-bias victims and non-victims. Finally, the results support the thesis that misogynistic hate crime, like other forms of hate crime, has a message effect.

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Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, and the Impact of Workplace Power

Socius Sociological Research for a Dynamic World ◽

10.1177/2378023119853894 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

pp. 237802311985389 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Vincent J. Roscigno

Keyword(s):

Sexual Harassment ◽

Occupational Status ◽

General Social Survey ◽

Full Time ◽

Social Survey ◽

Workplace Relations ◽

Gender And Age ◽

Interaction Modeling ◽

The Impact ◽

Workplace Power

Research on workplace discrimination has tended to focus on a singular axis of inequality or a discrete type of closure, with much less attention to how positional and relational power within the employment context can bolster or mitigate vulnerability. In this article, the author draws on nearly 6,000 full-time workers from five waves of the General Social Survey (2002–2018) to analyze discrimination, sexual harassment, and the extent to which occupational status and vertical and horizontal workplace relations matter. Results demonstrate important and persistent race, gender, and age vulnerabilities, with positive vertical (i.e., supervisory) and horizontal (i.e., coworker) relations generally reducing the likelihood of discriminatory and sexually harassing encounters. Interaction modeling further reveals a heightened likelihood of both gender and age discrimination for those in higher status occupational positions but uniform vulnerabilities across the occupational hierarchy when it comes to women’s experiences of sexual harassment and minority encounters with racial discrimination.

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The missing dalit women in testimonies of #MeToo sexual violence: Learnings for social movements

Contributions to Indian Sociology ◽

10.1177/0069966719885563 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 54 (1) ◽

pp. 76-82 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Rupali Bansode

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Social Movements ◽

Sexual Harassment ◽

Sexual Violence ◽

Dalit Women ◽

The Impact

While the #MeToo movement inspired many women to share their stories of sexual harassment on social media, the impact of the movement in India remains limited as it did not reflect the voices of subjects who have been historically marginalised. This note discusses the ways in which the erasure of dalit women’s testimonies of sexual violence happens by reflecting on a few central aspects of Satyabhama’s case, a victim/survivor of a caste-based incident of sexual violence in Maharashtra. It argues the relevance and importance of dalit women’s testimonies of sexual violence, which have been overlooked, for strengthening both the feminist and the dalit movements.

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