AAUW, Hostile Hallways: Bullying, Teasing, and Sexual Harassment in School (2001).
“Four out of five students — boys and girls — say that they have experienced some type of sexual harassment in school, despite a greater awareness of school policies dealing with the issue. This report updated earlier AAUW research and launched a second wave of activism.”
Catherine Hill & Holly Kearl, AAUW, Crossing the Line: Sexual Harassment at School (2011)
“Based on a survey of a nationally representative sample of 1,965 students conducted in May and June 2011, Crossing the Line: Sexual Harassment at School presents the most comprehensive research to date on sexual harassment in grades 7–12. The report reveals some sobering statistics about the prevalence of sexual harassment and the negative impact it has on students’ education. It concludes with concrete recommendations and promising practices for preventing sexual harassment directed at school administrators, educators, parents, students, and community members. We hope readers will be inspired to take new steps toward making schools free from sexual harassment.”
An organization of farmworker women, Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, published an open letter to Hollywood celebrities in Time magazine of November 10, 2018.
Over 300 Hollywood celebrities responded to the farmworker women’s letter with an open letter of their own published in the New York Times on January 1 2018. The letter was addressed to “Dear Sisters” and ended with “in solidarity.”
Research on sexual harassment in the workplace is extensive, yet research on sexual harassment in housing is extremely limited. In this study, the author qualitatively analyzes 60 cases of sexual harassment in rental housing to expand on recent research addressing this topic by examining the forms and processes of housing-related sexual harassment in more detail, with a particular focus on class and race. This study reveals that sexual coercion is the most common form of sexual harassment for women in housing. It also demonstrates the intersections of race, gender, and class in shaping this harassment. Landlords used their institutional authority in the housing context and racialized gender stereotypes to exploit tenants’ economic vulnerabilities and sexually coerce them. Landlords also used these strategies to defend themselves against complaints of harassment.
Tester, G. (2008). An Intersectional Analysis of Sexual Harassment in Housing. Gender & Society, 22(3), 349–366. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243208317827
In recent months, high-profile and influential figures in media, government, and entertainment have been brought down by credible allegations that they have engaged in sexual misconduct. These revelations have sparked an important national discussion about the prevalence of sexual harassment in American society and the ways in which powerful people can use their positions both to exploit their vulnerable targets and to escape the consequences of their actions.
The conversation is a necessary starting point, but the focus on high-status workplaces overlooks other contexts in which sexual harassment occurs. This Article focuses on one overlooked, significant national problem: the sexual harassment and exploitation of low-income women by their landlords. Many published cases have dealt with the phenomenon, and the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has filed many complaints against alleged harassers. Good academic articles in legal and social science literature also exist that discuss the subject from a largely theoretical perspective.4 But something crucial is missing: data. Unlike sexual harassment in the workplace, which has been exhaustively studied by academics of every stripe, there have been no reliable empirical studies about the nature and prevalence of sexual harassment in housing.
Rigel C. Oliveri, Sexual Harassment of Low-Income Women in Housing: Pilot Study Results, 83 Missouri Law Review 597 (2018).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.missouri.edu/facpubs/721
Without My Consent is an organization fighting against online harassment. They maintain a state law data base and conduct a survey about online harassment.
This PEW survey shows that two-thirds of young adults aged 18-29 have been subject to some type of online sexual harassment, and this behavior disproportionately targets women, people of color, LGBTQ individuals, and those with disabilities.
This report also examines demographic and school differences in students’ experiences, as well as changes in school climate over time. In addition, for the first time, this installment of GLSEN’s National School Climate Survey also includes insights on LGBTQ-inclusive sex education, student activism, parent advocacy, experiences of LGBTQ students with disabilities, and experiences of LGBTQ immigrant students.
A study released in April of 2019 by UC San Diego’s Center for Gender Equity and Health (GEH) and the nonprofit organization Stop Street Harassment (SSH) shows that sexual harassment and assault are widespread problems in the United States.
