Sexual harassment: A review of the literature

We critically review the published research on sexual harassment. Definitional, epidemiological, etiological, treatment, and prevention issues are examined as well as the literature on the effects of sexual harassment. Suggestions for future research are provided. Although there are many controversies concerning the definition of sexual harassment, it is clear that there are subtypes of sexual harassment, such as gender harassment, unwanted sexual attention, and sexual coercion. Existing research indicates that sexual harassment is a frequent form of victimization of women, affecting around half of all women, with verbal harassment being more common that nonverbal harassment. It appears common for sexual harassment victims to experience negative psychological, occupational, and economic consequences, although prospective research utilizing valid and comprehensive assessment methods needs to be conducted. Little is known about the etiology of sexual harassment, although models that take into account organizational and individual variables seem to account for more of the variance. Treatment of victims and harassers is hampered by a lack of treatment outcome research. Suggestions for future research are provided.

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