Sexual harassment and college faculty members

Abstract

This study involved open‐ended, face‐to‐face, exploratory interviews conducted with 10 male and 17 female college faculty members from three institutions. Interviews focused on the subjective experiences of those respondents as victims or as accused offenders of sexual harassment involving students or colleagues. Findings included the following: respondents’ definitions of sexual harassment frequently mirrored the legal categories of quid pro quo and hostile environment harassment; both cross‐ and same‐sex harassment occurred; most harassment incidents involved minor to moderate forms of harassment and were not reported to formal authorities; most faculty members tried to ignore the behavior or handle it informally; department chairpersons were seen as important in affecting the tolerance level of harassment in departments; and faculty reported many negative effects of their harassment experiences and engaged in some self‐blame.