Sexual Harassment Types and Severity: Linking Research and Policy (From Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: Perspectives, Frontiers, and Response Strategies, P 151-173, 1996, Margaret S Stockdale, ed. -- See NCJ-162499)

• NCJ Number: 162507
• Author(s): J E Gruber; M Smith; K Kauppinen-Toropainen
• Date Published: 1996
• Length: 23 pages
• Sale Source: Sage Publications, Inc
• Publication Type: Literature Review
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This literature review examines whether women of different occupations or nationalities experience similar types of sexual harassment and whether the impact or severity of the various forms of sexual harassment is similar across groups.

Abstract

The research literature suggests that there may be a universality in harassment experiences and severity. Recent works that review the conceptualization and measurement of harassment experiences and create typologies are discussed in this chapter. The literature on severity is addressed in terms of five factors that affect impact: source, frequency or duration, directness, averseness, and threat. Research on types and severity is discussed within the context of analyses of the experiences of American, Canadian, and European women. The results of the analyses provide a basis for a discussion of the universality of sexual harassment as well as for conceptualization and measurement issues that need to be addressed in the future. The implications of universal types and severity for policy and legal standards that emphasize an objective "reasonable person" perspective are discussed. 3 tables and 56 references