Individual Vulnerability and Organizational Context as Risks for Sexual Harassment among Female Graduate Students

Abstract

Despite a growing body of work on sexual harassment among college students, little work has examined predictors of sexual harassment specifically among graduate students. This study aims to address this gap in the literature by using data from 490 female graduate students at a large, public university. Based on a feminist routine activity theory approach, both individual vulnerability (lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, or other sexual identity [LGBQ+], international student status, psychological distress, alcohol use) and organizational context (departmental female ratio, male-dominated field, departmental support) are tested as risk factors for sexual harassment. Moreover, we examine risks for sexual harassment by either a peer or a professor before testing models for peer and faculty member harassment separately. Logistic regression analyses demonstrated that both individual vulnerability and organizational context are related to an increased likelihood of sexual harassment among female graduate students, but patterns of findings vary by type of offender. Policy recommendations are offered, including the need for safe spaces on campus for LGBQ+ and international students and the need for clear consequences for offenders of sexual harassment.

Understanding, Experience, and Response Strategies to Sexual Harassment Among Chinese College Students

“…On the other hand, female students tend to identify a broader range of behaviors as sexual harassment than male students (Rotundo et al, 2001; Rosenthal et al, 2016). Females are usually more vulnerable to sexual harassment (Sutton et al, 2021), which may allude to why they have a broad list of what qualifies as sexual harassment—for self-protection.…”

Factors influencing sexual harassment behavior in sports environment: Evidence from Pakistan

“…Scholars have reported that women are frequently subject to SH ( Huerta et al, 2006 ). As the industry is deeply rooted in hyper-masculine tendencies ( Sullivan, 2021 ), it is largely men who perpetrate SH ( Parent et al, 2016 ; Ford and Ivancic, 2020 ; Sutton et al, 2021 ) and negatively influence females ( Omorogiuwa, 2018 ). An organizational climate (OC) is an expression of individuals’ common views and mechanisms that explains how certain activities are geared toward achieving SH goals ( Fasting et al, 2010 ).…”

Sexual Harassment in the Academy: Harnessing the Growing Labor Movement in Higher Education to Address Sexual Harassment Against Graduate Workers

“…One study found that 38% of women and 23.4% of men graduate students experienced sexual harassment from faculty or staff, and 58% of women and 39% of men graduate students experienced sexual harassment from other students (Rosenthal et al, 2016). More recently, a study found that being a female graduate student with an LGBTQIA+ identity was the strongest predictor of harassment, and women who identified as a racial minority experienced harassment at the intersection of these inextricably linked identities (Sutton et al, 2021). Broadly, organizational contexts such as departmental support, female ratio within a department, and the department being situated within a male-dominated field of study may play a role in graduate workers' risk of harassment.…”

“…Broadly, organizational contexts such as departmental support, female ratio within a department, and the department being situated within a male-dominated field of study may play a role in graduate workers' risk of harassment. Specifically, female graduate students are more at risk of being sexually harassed by peers if they are in a male-dominated field (Sutton et al, 2021). However, certain academic disciplines may provide protective factors to those who abuse and/or may leave graduate workers more vulnerable due to the discipline context.…”

“…International graduate workers and the sexual harassment they experience are almost nonexistent in the literature, which is particularly alarming given that their visa status and ability to remain in the country are completely dependent on their academic mentors and maintaining their employment (Postel, 2020). One recent study did find that international student status was predictive of faculty-perpetrated sexual harassment, suggesting that their status as international students and workers does put them in a context where faculty can easily abuse them (Sutton et al, 2021). Institutions have largely failed to protect some of their most precarious workers from harassment in the workplace, and so graduate workers have organized in order to protect themselves.…”