NCJ Number
203028
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 18 Issue: 6 Dated: December 2003 Pages: 351-360
Date Published
December 2003
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Using a survey design, this study examined the relative prevalence of reported sexual harassment, stalking, and false victimization syndrome (FVS) in a cross-section of 46 Canadian companies from January 1995 through January 2000; the study also determined the number of companies that had policies to address these three situations, inside and outside interventions used by the victims for coping with incidents, and the injuries reported from such incidents.
Abstract
The questionnaire defined "sexual harassment," "stalking," and "false victimization." The latter refers to false allegations of sexual harassment and/or stalking. Of the 46 company respondents, 20 (43.5 percent) had reported sexual harassment incidents in their firms from January 1995 through January 2000. There were 53 reported cases. The majority of the reported sexual harassment cases involved male perpetrators and female targets (91.7 percent). Most of the incidents involved boss-subordinate incidents. Incidents were reported to human resource representatives in 58.3 percent of the cases. A complaint was filed with the Human Rights Commission in 6.3 percent of the cases. Inside assistance involved rehabilitation measures for the harasser in 39.6 percent of the cases, and existing company policy was relied upon in 25 percent of the cases. The indications are that when credible evidence existed to support a sexual harassment claim, organizational action was taken in the form of remedies, discipline, or dismissal. Eight companies reported stalking incidents that totaled 19 cases over this period. The majority of the stalking cases involved male perpetrators and female targets (89.5 percent). Just over half of the cases involved a coworker as the stalker, and 26.3 percent involved spouses. Outside assistance included police warnings to the stalker and restraining orders. Inside assistance included increased security measures, changing shifts, and warnings to the stalker by a management representative. Six companies reported a total of 14 cases of FVS. The majority of cases involved alleged male perpetrators and female targets. In most cases, the FVS was detected through an investigation and resolution of the problem. These study findings may be useful in helping companies reduce their liability risks by formulating stalking, sexual harassment, and FVS policies and by educating employees about the risk of the three constructs and ways of protecting themselves. 29 references