Unfortunately, it is common at school. In an American Association of University Women 2010-2011 survey, almost half of the students in grades 7-12 experienced some form of sexual harassment at school during the academic year (Hill & Kearn, 2011). An Association of American Universities Climate Survey on Sexual Assault and Sexual Misconduct (Cantor et al., 2015) found that almost half of all college students experienced sexual harassment since enrolling at college. Colleges students who were transgender or gender nonconforming had the highest rates: 75.2% for undergraduates and 69.4% for graduate/professional students. Female undergraduate students had the next highest rate at 61.9%, followed by female graduate/professional students at 44.1%. Next were male undergraduates at 42.9%. Male graduate/professional students had the lowest rates at 29.6%.
Sexual harassment also occurs in the workplace. The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) received 7,609 sexual harassment charges in FY 2018. The vast number were filed by females (about 84%). The EEOC and its partner state/local fair employment practices agencies (FEPA) together received 11,364 sexual harassment charges in FY 2011. (The West Virginia Human Rights Commission is a FEPA.)
- 35% of women in corporate America experienced sexual harassment during their careers (Thomas et al., 2018). Some female groups experienced more than others—for example, 55% of women in senior leadership, 48% of lesbian women and 45% of women in technical fields.
- Compared with other female workers, female supervisors are more likely to experience harassing behaviors, label them as such and report a more varied and sustained harassment (McLaughlin, Uggen & Blackstone, 2012). Male supervisors, in contrast, are no more or less likely to experience sexual harassment than are other male workers.
Types of work organizations particularly prone to occurrences of sexual harassment are those that are male dominated, very hierarchical and permissive of this conduct (Cooper, 2017; Buchanan et al., 2014).
As with other forms of sexual violence, sexual harassment in schools and the workplace often goes unreported. However, heightened media attention to sexual harassment in recent years has led more sexual harassment victims to share their experiences.