What is sexual harrassment?
Sexual harassment takes many forms, from constant joking to physical assault.
It may involve threats that you will lose your job or that you will fail in class.
Sexual harassment usually involves an abuse of power, such as between a
student and a teacher or an employee and a supervisor, but it can also occur
between people of equal rank. It can occur between men and women and between
people of the same gender. Anyone can be targeted for sexual harassment,
regardless of age, race, gender, physical characteristics, or sexual
identity.
Youngstown
State University
is committed to maintaining an environment free of sexual harassment. Sexual
harassment will not be tolerated within the University community. In
particular, managers and department heads are responsible for providing and
maintaining an environment conducive to work and learning. Students, faculty,
and staff can help by understanding and working to eliminate sexual
harassment.
YSU's
Policy Definition:
Sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome advances, requests for sexual
favors, or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when:
- submission is made an express
or implied term or condition of employment or status in a class,
program, or activity
- submission to or rejection of
the behavior is used to make an employment or education decision (such
as hiring, promotion, or a course grade)
- the conduct has the purpose or
effect of unreasonable interference with a person's work or educational
performance or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment
for work or learning
Examples:
Sexual harassment may take many forms, including, but not limited to:
- direct or implied threats that
submission to sexual advances will be a condition of employment, work status,
promotion, grades, or letters of recommendation
- unwelcome propositions of a
sexual nature
- comments of a sexual nature or
subtle pressure for sexual activity
- sexually explicit statements,
questions, jokes, or anecdotes
- unnecessary touching, patting,
hugging, or brushing against a person's body
- remarks of a sexual nature
about a person's clothing, body, sexual activity, or previous sexual
experience
- a pattern of conduct that
would humiliate or make a reasonable person uncomfortable
- physical assault
If You Are Sexually Harassed
Learn more about your rights and responsibilities:
Find out more about university complaint procedures regarding sexual harassment
from the Office of Equal
Opportunity & Diversity.
Seek information and
Support:
You may feel a range of emotions from rage, to confusion, to
helplessness, to fear. Talking to someone often helps to lessen the isolation
and may help you develop strategies to remedy the situation.
Explore your formal and
informal options:
Document the incidents:
Keep
written or tape-recorded logs of dates, times, places, witnesses, and the
nature of the harassment.
Talk with the harasser
directly or write a letter to him or her:
Clearly
recount the incidents in question and their impact on you, and demand that
the behavior stop. Deliver the letter by certified mail or in person; keep a
copy.
Talk to your co-workers and fellow students:
Find
out if they or anyone else they know have been harassed
by the same person. See if they will support you in your decision to take
action.
Discuss your experience
with a supervisor or any of the resource people in one of the offices listed
below. They can further assist you in defining and remedying the situation:
Ohio's laws against discrimination prohibit retaliation against a
person who files a complaint of sexual harassment.
How You Can Help Prevent Sexual Harassment
Education is fundamental to the prevention of sexual harassment. The
Office of Equal Opportunity & Diversity provides educational programs and
materials on sexual harassment prevention to faculty, staff, and students on
campus.
You can help prevent incidents of sexual
harassment by:
- Learning more about sexual
harassment and your rights and responsibilities
- Thinking about how your
actions and words may affect the work/learning environment and self
esteem of others
- Supporting those who are
targets of sexual harassment. Encourage them to take action. Offer
yourself as a witness.
YSU Board of Trustees Policy on Sexual
Harassment
For More Information
If you would like to ask
questions, file a complaint, or get a copy of YSU's
Equal Opportunity Complaint Procedure, contact one of the administrative
offices listed below:
Office
of Equal Opportunity & Diversity
Tod Hall, Room 223
330. 941.3370
Office of the Vice President for Student
Affairs
Tod Hall, Room 141
330. 941.3532
Women's Center
Kilcawley Center
330. 941.2311
University Counseling Center
Beeghley College
of Education, Room 3101
330. 941.3056
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Opportunity
