Sexual Harassment

As women have entered the work force in greater numbers, and especially as they have broken into fields that have traditionally been dominated by men, the complex issue of sexual harassment has emerged in the forefront of the nation's consciousness. Over the past few years, policy makers, employers, employees and all men and women have grappled over a great number of questions related to the issue, including: What exactly constitutes sexual harassment? Can it--and should it--be legislated against?

Most Americans first became aware of the growing debate over sexual harassment in October 1991, when Anita Hill, a University of Oklahoma law professor, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas had sexually harassed her when she worked for him. Thomas denied the allegations and was confirmed by the Senate in a 52-48 vote.

In the wake of the highly publicized Hill-Thomas hearings, many women's groups criticized the Senate for its treatment of Hill's charges, claiming that its mostly male members "just didn't get" sexual harassment. The Thomas hearings came just one month after the so-called Tailhook scandal, in which several dozen women were sexually harassed, groped and assaulted at a September 1991 convention of naval aviators in Las Vegas, Nev.

More recently, sexual-harassment charges forced the resignation of Oregon Sen. Robert Packwood (R). Allegations that Packwood had repeatedly sexually harassed women surfaced shortly after his reelection in November 1992. After a long investigation, the Senate Ethics Committee on September 6, 1995 voted unanimously that the Senate expel Packwood, concluding that he was guilty of "a pattern of abuse of his position and authority as a United States senator by repeatedly committing sexual misconduct." Packwood resigned the following day.

The focus on sexual harassment at high levels of government has forced the nation's employers to reexamine their own policies. As lawsuits have tested newly imposed sexual-harassment codes, critics have argued that some of these policies go too far in legislating individual behavior. Most people agree that physical harassment is wrong in virtually all circumstances.

Advocates for free speech say that some of the new rules go too far and are part of a wave of "political correctness" sweeping the nation that attempts to avoid offending anyone at any cost. They contend that sexual-harassment policies that outlaw certain kinds of "verbal conduct" endanger free speech and trample individual rights by protecting people from what some consider a "hostile environment."

Some observers say that our heightened concern about sexual harassment has caused its own problems. They argue that the fear of being unjustly accused has scared superiors away from interacting with their employees of the opposite sex. They maintain that obsession with harassment has made men afraid to take a personal interest in women, making it more difficult for women to find mentors in job situations. Some assert that workplace relationships have become stiff and unnatural as a result of concern over sexual harassment.

Finally, there are those who find the very idea of sexual-harassment policies patronizing to women. They say that such laws turn women into helpless victims who can't take care of themselves in the working world and must be coddled by government regulations.

On the other hand, advocates of new policies forbidding sexual harassment assert that guidelines are needed to protect women from inappropriate behavior by some men. They argue that women are demeaned by certain forms of suggestive behavior that should not be tolerated by society. On a more basic level, they say, women should be allowed to seek to change a situation that makes them uncomfortable and puts them in a position of weakness.

Sources
Gest, T.; Saltzman, A. "Harassment: Men on Trial." U.S. News & World Report (October 21, 1991)

Gibbs, N. "Office Crimes." Time (October 21, 1991)

Gray, R. "How To Deal With Sexual Harassment." Nation's Business (December 1991)