Any unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. Sexual harassment is illegal and offenders can be prosecuted.

Sexual harassment is any unwanted and/or inappropriate sexual touching and/or language that makes the school environment feel unsafe and hostile.  It is much more common than most people think.  The harasser may not think they are doing anything wrong, but harassment is determined by the person receiving the unwanted attention.  Only the person being harassed can determine how they feel!

Although these sexual harassment laws have been on the books for a while, it has only been in the last 10 years that we have started seeing sexual harassment come into its own with awareness, education and court cases.

Two Types of Sexual Harassment

• Quid Pro Quo: 
  Literally, a Latin term meaning “this for that.”  Quid pro quo harassment occurs when a person in power (usually a boss or supervisor) makes decisions affecting an employee’s job based on whether the employee complies with sexual demands.
   
• Hostile Environment: 
  This is the most common type of harassment and it exists when harassing behavior causes the employee to feel uncomfortable in the workplace.  Hostile environment sexual harassment occurs when the conduct is anything sexual in nature including touching, sexual jokes or remarks or displaying/showing pictures of a sexual nature, etc. and is:

• Unwelcome
• Severe and pervasive

 To avoid exhibiting harassing behaviors yourself, ask yourself these simple questions:

1. “Would I want my comments and/or behaviors to appear in a newspaper or on a television show so that my family or friends would know about them?”
2. “Is this something I would say if my mother/father, girlfriend/boyfriend, sister/brother, wife/husband were present?”
3. “Is this something I would want someone to do or say to someone I care about?”
4. “Is this something I would say if the other person’s significant other (wife, husband, girlfriend, or boyfriend) were present?”
5. “Is there a difference in power between the other person and me?  (Am I that person’s teacher, supervisor, employer, or do I have power over that person for some other reason?  Example: size, social status, etc.)

History of Sexual Harassment Law

Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII:  Prohibits sexual discrimination at work. Establishes the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Civil Rights Act of 1972, Title IV:  Prohibits sexual discrimination against students and staff at school.  Provides for the pursuit of unlimited damages.

1980 EEOC Defines Sexual Harassment as a form of sexual discrimination.