{"title":"What Would a “Reasonable Person” Do? Exploring the Gap Between Experienced and Anticipated Responses to Sexual Harassment","authors":"T. Morton, Elena Dimitriou, M. Barreto","doi":"10.1177/03616843231170761","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Individuals who are sexually harassed often do not formally report their experience. Current understandings of this focus on the procedural barriers to reporting rather than examining whether and how reporting meets the needs of those who experience harassment. We document the repertoire of needs experienced by those who are sexually harassed and the actions they take to meet them. In two quasi-experimental studies (Ns = 415 and 589), we compared the needs and actions described by those who experience sexual harassment with those anticipated by others who have not encountered sexual harassment (Study 1 also compares across gender identities). Results of multivariate analyses of variance and general linear mixed models revealed a persistent gap between perspectives. People who have experienced sexual harassment reported a range of needs and engaged in a variety of actions to meet these needs. Safety and social support were prioritized over formal actions. Those who had not encountered sexual harassment anticipated having stronger needs and taking more actions—especially formal ones. The results encourage those who seek to support individuals who are sexually harassed to address a wider variety of needs than is typically considered. Additional online materials for this article are available on PWQ's website at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/10.1177/03616843231170761.","PeriodicalId":48275,"journal":{"name":"Psychology of Women Quarterly","volume":"47 1","pages":"343 - 364"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5000,"publicationDate":"2023-05-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Psychology of Women Quarterly","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/03616843231170761","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Individuals who are sexually harassed often do not formally report their experience. Current understandings of this focus on the procedural barriers to reporting rather than examining whether and how reporting meets the needs of those who experience harassment. We document the repertoire of needs experienced by those who are sexually harassed and the actions they take to meet them. In two quasi-experimental studies (Ns = 415 and 589), we compared the needs and actions described by those who experience sexual harassment with those anticipated by others who have not encountered sexual harassment (Study 1 also compares across gender identities). Results of multivariate analyses of variance and general linear mixed models revealed a persistent gap between perspectives. People who have experienced sexual harassment reported a range of needs and engaged in a variety of actions to meet these needs. Safety and social support were prioritized over formal actions. Those who had not encountered sexual harassment anticipated having stronger needs and taking more actions—especially formal ones. The results encourage those who seek to support individuals who are sexually harassed to address a wider variety of needs than is typically considered. Additional online materials for this article are available on PWQ's website at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/10.1177/03616843231170761.
期刊介绍:
Psychology of Women Quarterly (PWQ) is a feminist, scientific, peer-reviewed journal that publishes empirical research, critical reviews and theoretical articles that advance a field of inquiry, teaching briefs, and invited book reviews related to the psychology of women and gender. Topics include (but are not limited to) feminist approaches, methodologies, and critiques; violence against women; body image and objectification; sexism, stereotyping, and discrimination; intersectionality of gender with other social locations (such as age, ability status, class, ethnicity, race, and sexual orientation); international concerns; lifespan development and change; physical and mental well being; therapeutic interventions; sexuality; social activism; and career development. This journal will be of interest to clinicians, faculty, and researchers in all psychology disciplines, as well as those interested in the sociology of gender, women’s studies, interpersonal violence, ethnic and multicultural studies, social advocates, policy makers, and teacher education.