Sexual harassment also occurs in educational settings. College students often find themselves in the unpleasant situation of experiencing unwanted sexual advances from their professors. Both sexes are vulnerable to this form of harassment. However, it is most commonly male professors or instructors who harass female students (Bingham & Battey, 2005; Kelley & Parsons, 2000).
Academic sexual harassment differs somewhat from harassment that occurs in the workplace. For one thing, a student who encounters unwanted sexual advances often has the option of selecting a different instructor or adviser. In contrast, workers in an employment setting tend to have fewer alternatives for avoiding or escaping the harassment while still keeping their jobs. However, students can experience coercive pressures associated with the need to obtain a good grade, a letter of recommendation, or a desirable work or research opportunity. Furthermore, sexual harassment of students can result in poor school performance, altered or derailed academic careers, and a variety of psychological and physical symptoms comparable to those experienced by people harassed on the job (Bingham & Battey, 2005; Bruns & Bruns, 2005).
Students also tend to be more naive than workers about the implications of becoming sexually involved with someone who may be important to their successful pursuit of an education or a career. There is a real potential for inappropriate exploitation of youthful naivete and awe regarding prestige and power. Furthermore, evidence has suggested
that a student victim "might wonder whether her academic success has been due to her ability or her professor’s sexual interest in her" (Satterfield & Muehlenhard, 1990, p. 1).
Many American higher-education institutions have established programs designed to educate faculty and administrators about sexual harassment (Franke, 2008). An increasing number of colleges and universities have also established policies prohibiting faculty from dating their students (Bruns & Bruns, 2005). The growing debate over professor-student liaisons, together with decisions to ban such relationships, is fueled largely by the belief that many relationships between faculty and students may seem consensual on the surface but actually are not. Rather, the power of professors or advisers or both to determine students’ futures through grades and recommendations often creates pressure for students to comply to protect their class standing or future prospects.
Sexual harassment also occurs in high schools and even middle schools (Ormerod et al., 2008). A recent survey of almost 2,000 teens found that 56% of girls and 40% of boys reported being sexually harassed either in person or electronically (Anderson,
2012) . In 1992 the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that school districts are liable for hostile sexual environments created by school employees and can be sued for damages. However, the Supreme Court has yet to extend this liability to sexual harassment perpetrated by peers. Nevertheless, many district courts have allowed students to litigate cases of peer harassment under Title IX, a 1972 civil rights law that prohibits federally funded schools from denying students opportunities based on their sex (Lichty et al., 2008; Scher, 1997). Furthermore, the U. S. Department of Education has published a manual of peer sexual harassment guidelines in which it is clearly stated that schools that do not take measures to remedy this form of harassment could lose federal funds (Scher, 1997).