Sexual Harassment Scenarios

Examples of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Unwelcome Physical Contact

At a social function, you spend some time talking with your supervisor. At one point in the conversation, he reaches out and puts his hand on your hip. You freeze, completely uncomfortable but not sure how to proceed. After a few minutes, he takes his hand away and you end the conversation and move away. Now you are scared that he may make further overtures.

A single act of unwelcome sexual conduct can potentially constitute sexual harassment. The physical contact and the power differential are aggravating factors. Unquestionably, it is inappropriate for a supervisor to touch an employee in this manner and the behavior needs to be stopped.

Sexual Jokes Around The Office

Your office has an informal atmosphere, with a fair amount of joking and casual chatting. Sometimes the jokes and conversations involve sexual content. Although these jokes are not directed at anyone, one co-worker will occasionally say to other employees, “you’re in a bad mood today, did you not get any last night?” and everyone will laugh. Your supervisor does not join in, but she will laugh along with the others.

This situation clearly describes unprofessional conduct, which the university does not tolerate and the supervisor should stop. Whether this conduct is creating a hostile environment for any employee will depend on the frequency of these conversations and jokes, the exact wording, whether the banter continues in private with any employee, and whether an employee or anyone outside of the unit is subjected to the joking and feels uncomfortable.

Examples of Sexual Harassment in the Classroom

Matchmaker Faculty Member

You are a graduate student in a PhD program and your advisor is one of the foremost scholars in the field in which you want to study. Throughout the spring semester, the advisor has been asking you about personal aspects of your life, including if you are in a relationship. This makes you uncomfortable, but you reluctantly answer that you are not. A couple of weeks later, your advisor invites you to his house for dinner with him and his wife. You accept the offer because it seems innocuous, and you see this an opportunity to learn more about his background and career path as a mentor. When you arrive at your advisor’s house, he immediately introduces you to his 35 year-old son, who is single. During dinner, the advisor and his wife provide you with their son’s résumé and life story, telling you how successful he is and dropping hints that he is looking for a partner. They mention that they think you and their son would make a cute couple. Before you leave, the advisor’s son asks you to go to the movies tomorrow night. You do not want to be mean, so you accept. Following your date, you tell him that you had a really nice time with him, but you are too busy to be in a relationship right now. Your advisor asks you the next day how your date went and what you think about his son. You answer truthfully, but for the next month the advisor continues to ask you daily if you are interested in his son, if you would go on a second date with him, and if you are dating anyone else, but you continue to politely decline and say to him that his questions about your personal life feel harassing. The advisor begins to take research away from you and excludes you from meetings and emails. A summer research project abroad, which your advisor told you in January that you would be invited to join him on, was offered to another student.

The advisor’s conduct is unwelcomed and of a sexual nature. While the advisor is not propositioning you directly, he is still prying into and attempting to control your romantic interests. His questions about your relationship status make you uncomfortable, and he is asking daily about your personal life. Whether the conduct is severe and pervasive or constitutes quid pro quo (sexual favor for his son in exchange for a benefit to you—to participate in research over the summer) would depend on knowing more facts of the case, such as if the questions about your relationship status were asked in front of other PhD students or if he asked you every occasion that he saw you. Even though he is not making personal advances to you, the sexual nature of the conversation can constitute sexual harassment. After you reject his son and raise concerns of being harassed, the advisor is potentially retaliating against you.

The Overly Friendly Adjunct

An adjunct faculty member befriends the students in her class and says she likes to go to the Delis on the weekend. She offers to buy the students a round of drinks if she sees them there. You are one of her students and you tell her you don’t drink because you are on an athletic team. She asks you when your next match is because she wants to watch you compete. She also offers to get you the newest running shoe from Nike because she has a friend who works for Nike’s corporate sales force. Later in the semester, the faculty member asks you to read a draft of the first chapter of her book. Without knowing what it is about, you agree. The book describes a romantic relationship between a teacher and a student who is an athlete with similar features as you. You are too embarrassed to go to class the following week. The faculty member shows up at your competition the next weekend and asks you what you think of her book and why you have missed class all week. When talking, the faculty member rubs your back and squeezes your arm. She comments on how strong you are. The following Monday, you get approved for a late withdraw from the class, but there will be a W on the student’s transcript.

The adjunct faculty member engages in grooming-like behaviors by offering to buy alcohol for all students and expensive apparel items for you. She shows up at your competition, which could be something she did before she taught you, but when combined with the other conduct, it is concerning.n Some behaviors are directed to everyone so that behaviors specifically targeted to you are questioned less because she can claim she does this for all students. You are embarrassed about the book chapter essentially describing her fantasy about you, and the faculty member has physical contact with you at the match. Title IX is intended to ensure a student is not denied the benefit of an academic program because of sexual harassment. In this case, you missed multiple classes, and eventually dropped a class to avoid contact with the faculty member that was making you uncomfortable and expressing sexual interest in you. You also received a “W” on your transcript because of the late drop, and it could impact your ability to graduate on time or be able to declare the major you wanted.