I'm Not Thinking of it as Sexual Harassment: Understanding Harassment Across Race and Citizenship

• NCJ Number: 215867
• Journal: Gender & Society Volume: 20 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2006 Pages: 87-107
• Author(s): Sandy Welsh; Jacquie Carr; Barbara MacQuarrie; Audrey Huntley
• Date Published: February 2006
• Length: 21 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined how race and citizenship impacted women’s definitions of sexual harassment in a Canadian sample.

Abstract

The results indicated that issues of race and citizenship significantly shaped the women’s definition of sexual harassment across their different races, citizenship status, and job types. The authors point out that the experience of sexual harassment for women of color and women who lacked citizenship was tied up in their experiences of racial harassment and social isolation. Specific findings, for example, revealed that when Black women with full citizenship were sexually harassed by Black men, the women did not define their experiences as harassment. Filipina domestic workers were not sure about the boundary lines between appropriate and inappropriate behavior, which was exacerbated by their social isolation and lack of citizenship. The findings underscore the importance of an intersectional analysis for understanding women’s harassment experiences and their ability to seek help. The research was carried out as part of a participatory action research project in Ontario, Canada. Data were drawn from 7 focus groups comprised of a total of 35 women who were purposively selected on the basis of their race, class, and citizenship. Sampling techniques included snowball sampling and recruitment through community organizations. Focus groups were comprised of nine different types of women: (1) Black women, Filipinas, and White women who worked in unionized male-dominated manufacturing settings; (2) mixed-race women employed by the Federal Government; (3) a mixed-race sexual harassment support group; (4) Filipina domestic workers; (5) First Nations (Native) women; (6) White women with disabilities; (7) White women living in rural areas; (8) White lesbians; and (9) young women. The analysis, which relied on a thematic review of the focus group transcripts, began from the theoretical assumption that sexual harassment, like other forms of sexual violence, was embedded within the intersection of race, gender, and citizenship. Table, notes, references