Focus on Contemporary Issues - Sexual Misconduct

Sexual Harassment

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is proud to affirm its commitment to a community in which all students, staff and faculty are accepted and judged as individuals, independent of ancestry, social background, physical characteristics or personal beliefs.

The university has no tolerance for discriminatory or harassing behaviors. The Board of Regents has clearly stated that discriminatory harassment based on race, sex, religion, color, creed, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry or age is contradictory to the goals of the institution. If you witness or are subjected to behaviors of this kind, there are offices and services to offer you support, counseling and advice.

Sexual harassment has been defined as . . .
Any unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and other verbal and physical conduct of a sexual nature. It includes instances when such conduct is indicated to be a term or condition of an individual's decisions, interferes with an individual's academic or employment performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive academic or employment environment.

The following examples are intended to illustrate sexual harassment behavior. They are drawn from actual cases.

It was common practice in a professor's lectures during the first week of class to show technical anatomical slide show that included unrelated slides of nude women taken from popular magazines. Complaints had been filed with the dean, but the practice had continued.

Margaret, a work study student, applied for and accepted a job in a department even though several of her friends had warned her about the harassment other women had experienced there. She saw the calendars of nude women in men's offices and heard sexual innuendos being made about fellow female workers or students whenever she went to the employee lounge. Two weeks after she started the job, she saw a male supervisor grab a woman from behind and fondle her breasts. The woman struggled and ran from the room. Margaret filed a complaint.

Jay, a sophomore, requested a meeting with his instructor to discuss a low grade he received on an essay exam. In her office, the instructor made advances toward Jay and placed her arm around his waist and hugged him to her. She told Jay that he could get an "A" if he would go to bed with her. Jay did resist her physical advances, but declined to go to her apartment. He received a final grade of a "D" for the class. It is all too common for someone accused of sexual harassment to say, "I didn't realize that she (or he) would be offended by that."

All members of the university community should become more knowledgeable about sexual harassment, and be sensitive to the impact of their behavior on others. Members of the university community who supervise others have a special responsibility in this regard. They must help create an environment that actively discourages behavior that could be viewed as sexual harassment. Everyone is encouraged to speak out when they see, hear of or experience incidents of sexual harassment.

If you feel that you may be the victim of sexual harassment, talk to someone you trust about the situation. You may feel embarrassed to provoke the unwanted behavior, but you have a right to pursue your education or perform your job in an environment free from this type of experience. Sexual harassment can be as subtle as . . . a look or a blatant as a grope. It can occur within and beyond the classroom and workplace. Both men and women can be sexually harassed, although women are most often victims. Verbal harassment may include humor or jokes about women, sex or sexual orientation. Sexual harassment often occurs in situations where one person has power over another, but may also occur among peers.

You may also contact the Office of Human Resources and Diversity at 472-1072 for assistance or to file a complaint.