Date of Publication: Feb 22, 2013

Author: Ping Hu , Nancy Parsons , Kelli McCormack Brown and Vance Hillman

Summary:

This study was conducted to determine the nature and prevalence of sexual harassment of health education faculty by co-worker(s) in U.S. colleges and universities. Their perceptions of, and attitudes toward, sexual harassment were examined. A 90-item questionnaire was mailed to a stratified random sample, including 239 full-time faculty involved in programs with undergraduate and graduate health education programs listed in the 1992 ESG Directory. Results indicated that nearly 90 percent of the respondents experienced sexual harassment behaviors. Gender harassment behaviors were reported most frequently, followed by unwanted sexual attention, and sexual coercion and attempted sexual assault. More males than females failed to recognize/label these behaviors as sexual harassment (p<.05). Most of the co-workers engaging in the behaviors were of the opposite gender (90 percent). For females, 66 percent of the incidents reported were by a co-worker of a higher rankthan the respondent, while for males, 75 percent of the incidents reported were by a co-worker of the same rank as the respondent. Female faculty were less tolerant of sexual harassment than were male faculty. It is recommended that sexual harassment prevention and training programs be implemented for health educators to enrich their knowledge and encourage utilization of the existing policies and procedures.

Link to Full Reading:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10556699.1996.10603217