Sexual Harassment Myths or Facts?
Read each statement.
Circle “T” for TRUE if you think the statement is generally or usually true.
Circle “F” for FALSE if you think the statement is generally or usually false.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------T
F
1. Sexual harassment is a problem in the workplace.
T
F
2. Males are not victims of sexual harassment in the workplace.
T
F
3. If a female dresses or behaves in a sexy way, she is asking to be
sexually harassed.
T
F
4. Sexual harassment does not occur between people of the same sex.
T
F
5. Sexual harassment means bothering someone in a sexual way.
T
F
6. Quid Pro Quo involves granting an employment benefit in exchange
for sexual favors or making sex a condition of one’s employment.
T
F
7. Teasing and flirting are no big deal. They make work more fun.
T
F
8. Most females enjoy getting sexual attention at work.
T
F
9. Women/men who work in nontraditional jobs are more likely to be
sexually harassed.
T
F
10. Sexual harassment is behavior that is not only unwelcome, but in most
cases repeated.
T
F
11. A “hostile environment” is one where conduct of a sexual nature
(visual, verbal, or physical) is so repetitious that it unreasonably
interferes with an employee’s work performance or creates an
intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment.
T
F
12. If the recipient doesn’t like the sexual attention, but the person acting
speaking means it only as flirting or joking, then it is not sexual
sexual harassment.
T
F
13. The goal of sexual harassment is not sexual pleasure, but gaining
power over another.
Sexual Harassment Myths or Facts?
ANSWER KEY
1. Sexual harassment is a problem in the workplace.
True: Studies show that 50-90% of working women have experienced sexual
harassment. (See Question #2 for information about men in the workplace.)
2. Males are not victims of sexual harassment in the workplace.
False: About 10-30% of men say they have been sexually harassed in the workplace.
3. If a female dresses or behaves in a sexy way , she is asking to be sexually
harassed.
False: This is blaming a victim. Dressing or behaving in sexually provocative way
doesn’t cause sexual harassment, although it may increase the possibility that one
may become a victim. On the other hand, NOT dressing or behaving in a sexually
provocative way doesn’t PREVENT harassment.
4. Sexual harassment does not occur between people of the same sex.
False: Harassment can occur between males or between females. It is estimated that
male-to-male sexual harassment accounts for 20% of all male sexual harassment
complaints. Three percent of sexual harassment complaints by women involve
female-to-female harassment. The law does not differentiate between opposite-sex
harassment or same-sex harassment.
5. Sexual harassment means bothering someone in a sexual way.
True: Reinforce the common everyday definition given of sexual harassment.
6. Quid Pro Quo involves granting an employment benefit in exchange for sexual
favors or making sex a condition of one’s employment.
True: Reinforce the legal definition of Quid Pro Quo.
7. Teasing and flirting are no big deal. They make work more fun.
False: Reinforce the fact that sexual harassment is defined by the victim, not the
harasser. What may be teasing to one person may be sexual harassment to another. It
is wise to keep teasing and flirting out of the workplace setting.
Sexual Harassment Myths or Facts?
ANSWER KEY
8. Most females enjoy getting sexual attention at work.
False: Most women are angry, annoyed; and embarrassed by sexual attention at work.
They report feeling put down and negated when their sexually is noticed instead of
their character, skills, or professional attributes.
9. Women/men who work in nontraditional jobs are more likely to be sexually
harassed.
True: Women in nontraditional jobs (those that are usually held by men) ten to be
victims of sexual harassment more often then women in traditional jobs. Possible
reasons may be 1) power issues and 2) greater vulnerability because of minority
status. It is also true that men in nontraditional jobs may experience more sexual
harassment.
10. Sexual harassment is behavior that is not only unwelcome, but in most cases
repeated.
True: Again, reinforce the common definition.
11. A “hostile environment” is one where conduct of sexual nature (visual, verbal, or
physical) is so often repeated tat it unreasonably interferes with an employee’s
work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive working
environment.
True: Again, reinforce the legal definition.
12. If the recipient doesn’t like the sexual attention, but the person speaking or acting
means it only as flirting or joking, then it is not sexual harassment.
False: If a person perceives sexual attention as sexual harassment, then it is sexual
harassment, remember that the law is concerned with the IMPACT of the behavior,
not the intent behind it. Sometimes the intent is genuinely innocent, and a behavior is
misunderstood as harassment. In most of these cases, the behavior stops when the
victim explains how he/she feels about it.
13. The goal of sexual harassment is not sexual pleasure, but gaining power over
another.
True: Reinforce the common definition of sexual harassment and the issue of power
being the motive behind sexual harassment, rather then sexual pleasure.