Boundaries and Borders: How Do Recipients Interpret Social-Sexual Behaviour at Work?

Abstract

This article aims to provide a conceptual framework for elucidating how and under what circumstances women interpret social-sexual behaviours they experience at work as sexual harassment, by reviewing journal articles related to the interpretation of sexual conduct and harassment published between 1990 and 2016. By appraising, expanding, synthesising and collating extant literature in the area, it is proposed that social-sexual behaviour experienced by women at the workplace will be interpreted as harassing or not depending on: a) how they perceive the appropriateness of the intentions of the harasser, b) their sensitivity to the issue of sexual harassment, c) how personally vulnerable they are, d) the context within which the behaviour occurred and c) the behaviour itself. The proposed framework adds to existing knowledge by building on and expanding the prior understanding of how social-sexual behaviour at work is interpreted, going beyond the constricted attention paid to one or few factors affecting interpretation in a piecemeal fashion.

Expectancy Violation Exposes the Hidden Victims of Sexual Harassment

“…In conjunction, there is evidence that the same stereotypical pattern of gendered norms will occur in a sexual harassment scenario. For example, literature indicates that it is typically women who are harassed (Adikaram, 2018;Foster & Fullagar, 2018;Jacobson & Eaton, 2018). This finding aligns with gendered expectations and is also statistically supported, with a recent Australian survey identifying that 85% of Australian women, compared with 56% of Australian men, had experienced sexual harassment in their lifetime (AHRC, 2020a).…”

“…The negative perception from expectancy violation may have both objective and schematic origins. For example, women are overwhelmingly perceived as the victims in a sexual harassment situation; therefore, a male victim seems implausible (Adikaram, 2018;AHRC, 2020a;Foster & Fullagar, 2018;Jacobson & Eaton, 2018;Quick & McFadyen, 2017). Likewise, statistics from the AHRC sexual harassment surveys indicated that more women than men experienced sexual harassment in their lifetime (AHRC, 2012(AHRC, , 2018(AHRC, , 2020a.…”

“…Consistent with gender, the perceptions of physically attractive victims of sexual harassment also fit the schematic model of sexual harassment, with corresponding negative consequences for less physically attractive victims. In essence, it is expected that more attractive individuals will be victims of sexual advances (Agthe & Maner, 2017;Buss, 2016;Maestripieri et al, 2017), including advances that may be unwanted and unwelcome, and that constitute sexual harassment (Adikaram, 2018;Herrera et al, 2016). Part of the explanation may lie with the positive associations generally ascribed to more attractive individuals.…”