Responses to Sexual Harassment on the Job: Legal, Organizational, and Individual Actions

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Abstract
Remedial actions to curtail and prevent sexual harassment in the workplace have focused on providing victims with legal redress, establishing employers' responsibilities, and encouraging employees to resist harassment. This paper discusses these various forms of response to sexual harassment. First, the development of judicial and legal criteria defining harassment as illegal behavior and establishing parameters of employer responsibilities are reviewed. Then, the discussion examines actions employers have taken to meet their responsibilities (e.g., issuing policy statements). Secondary analyses of data collected from 3139 women who reported experiences of sexual harassment are used to explore individual responses to harassment, and potential determinants of those responses. Finally, support services provided by women's organizations are discussed, and some conclusions are drawn about the impact of remedial actions on the prevention of sexual harassment on the job.