PERCEPTIONS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE FLORIDA LEGAL SYSTEM

Abstract

This article applies two explanations of sexual harassment—gender dominance and sex-role spillover—in multivariate analyses of perceptions of two forms of harassment of women in legal settings by male judges and attorneys. Regression analyses of data from statewide samples of Florida judges and attorneys support the age/spillover hypothesis: Older cohorts of men are markedly less likely than are other respondents to perceive male judges' and attorneys' gender-typing behavior (e.g., commenting on women's appearance in court). Some support is also found for the age/dominance hypothesis, which predicts that younger women will be especially aware of more serious forms of sexual harassment by male judges and attorneys. Younger women judges, particularly those with a feminist orientation, show markedly greater awareness of sexual advances and other dominance behaviors by male judges.