The Reasonable Woman Standard: Effects on Sexual Harassment Court Decisions

Some federal courts have used a reasonable woman standard rather than the traditional reasonable man or reasonable person standard to determine whether hostile environment sexual harassment has occurred. The current research examined the impact of the reasonable woman standard on federal district court decisions, controlling for other factors found to affect sexual harassment court decisions. Results indicated that there was a weak relationship between whether a case followed a reasonable woman precedent-setting case and the likelihood that the court decision favored the plaintiff. The implications of our findings for individuals and organizations involved in sexual harassment claims are discussed.     

Perceptions of Sexual Harassment: The Effects of Gender,Legal Standard,and Ambivalent Sexism

This research tests the possibility that the reasonable woman as compared to the reasonable person test of hostile work environment sexual harassment interacts with hostile and benevolent sexist beliefs and under some conditions triggers protectionist attitudes toward women who complain of sexual harassment, We administered to a sample of undergraduates the ambivalent sexism inventory along with the fact patterns in two harassment cases and asked them to make legally relevant decisions under either the reasonable woman or person standard. We found that those high in hostile sexism, and women, found more evidence of harassment. However, those high in benevolent sexism did not exhibit the hostile sexism effects. Although men were less sensitive to the reasonable woman standard than women, under some conditions the reasonable woman standard enabled both genders to find greater evidence of harassment. The results are discussed from the perspectives of law and psychology.     

Gender Differences in Risk Markers for Perpetration of Physical Partner Violence: Results from a Meta-Analytic Review

There is a lack of consensus on whether the use of intimate partner violence (IPV) is distinctly different between men and women, or if men and women share similar risk markers for perpetrating IPV. In this study, we compared 60 different risk markers for IPV perpetration for men and women using a meta-analysis. We found three out of 60 risk markers significantly differed between men and women. Our results suggest that there are more similarities between men and women than there are differences in risk markers for IPV perpetration.     

Explaining Sexual Harassment Judgments: Looking Beyond Gender of the Rater

Law and Human Behavior - In two decades of research on sexual harassment, one finding that appears repeatedly is that gender of the rater influences judgments about sexual harassment such that...     

Violence and Gangs: Gender Differences in Perceptions and Behavior

Most research on violence has focused on males, but recent studies indicatethat females are also involved in violent crimes. Few studies, to date,have examined whether different or similar models explain male and femaleinvolvement in violent behavior. In the current research, we examine therelative contribution of social bond, self-control and social learningconcepts to the explanation of male and female violent offending. We alsoexplore the unique contribution of gang membership, school environment andprior victimization to these explanatory models. Using a multisite sampleof eighth-grade students, we find that results of a Chow test indicate theneed for separate theoretical models. Despite some similarities, differentfactors account for male and female rates of violent behavior.     

Changing Perceptions of Sexual Harassment in the Federal Workforce, 1987–94

Recent criticisms of sexual harassment law and workplace training policies contend that they have "sanitized" the workplace through their stigmatization of sexual expression that does not amount to actual discrimination. This study assesses some of the empirical foundations for those normative arguments. Using data from the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board's 1987 and 1994 surveys, we examine differences over time in federal workers' perceptions of what types of behavior constitute sexual harassment. The article draws on a sociolegal theory of the endogenous nature of law as well as research on perceptions of sexual harassment. We hypothesize that, because of increased attention to sexual harassment, and to the hostile environment theory specifically, by scholars, judges, and the news media, and related policy changes in workplace training programs, federal workers likely came to view a wider range of sexual conduct as constituting harassment during this time period. The results support our expectations. We also find that sexual harassment training in their agency increased workers' likelihood of viewing both hostile environment behavior and quid pro quo behavior as harassment.     

Gender Harassment: Broadening Our Understanding of Sex-Based Harassment at Work

This study challenges the common legal and organizational practice of privileging sexual advance forms of sex-based harassment, while neglecting gender harassment. Survey data came from women working in two male-dominated contexts: the military and the legal profession. Their responses to the Sexual Experiences Questionnaire (SEQ) revealed five typical profiles of harassment: low victimization, gender harassment, gender harassment with unwanted sexual attention, moderate victimization, and high victimization. The vast majority of harassment victims fell into one of the first two groups, which described virtually no unwanted sexual advances. When compared to non-victims, gender-harassed women showed significant decrements in professional and psychological well-being. These findings underscore the seriousness of gender harassment, which merits greater attention by both law and social science.     

性骚扰立法的比较研究——兼论中国反性骚扰法之设计

性骚扰是一个影响面极其广泛的社会问题,在西方世界较早引起人们的关注。美国、澳大利亚等资本主义发达国家通过制定法或判例确立了反性骚扰的诸多原则,对世界上其他国家的类似立法颇具借鉴意义。在我国,性骚扰问题引起人们热烈讨论是近几年的事,立法相对滞后。在解决人类面临的相同问题时,法律作为最后的选择往往具有其优越之处。借鉴乃至移植已有的先进立法及其精神不失为一种良策。为此,笔者在分析比较主要国家的相关立法之后,提出制定与完善我国反性骚扰法的管见,以期抛砖引玉。     

The Effects of Pretrial Publicity on Juror Verdicts: A Meta-Analytic Review

The effect of pretrial publicity (PTP) on juror verdicts was examined through a meta-analysis of 44 empirical tests representing 5,755 subjects. In support of the hypothesis, subjects exposed to negative PTP were significantly more likely to judge the defendant guilty compared to subjects exposed to less or no negative PTP. Greater effect sizes were produced in studies which included a pretrial verdict assessment, use of the potential juror pool as subjects, multiple points of negative information included in the PTP, real PTP, crimes of murder, sexual abuse, or drugs, and greater length of time between PTP exposure and judgment. The effect was attenuated with student subjects, use of general rather than specific PTP information, certain types of PTP content, a post-trial predeliberation verdict, and specific types of crimes. Implications of these results are discussed, along with possible mechanisms that underlie the PTP effect.     

Perceptions of Safety in Intimate Relationships: Group Differences Based on Gender and Setting

Intimate partner violence continues to be prevalent, resulting in negative consequences for the individuals involved and for society as a whole. Perceptions of safety in relationships where intimate partner violence is present is an understudied topic in the literature. The Safety Assessment of Future Events Scale (SAFE) was developed to assess respondents’ perceptions of safety in their intimate relationship. The purpose of this study was to examine whether group differences existed on respondents’ SAFE scores. 428 participants from community and clinic samples completed the SAFE and other measures contained in a southwest university’s marriage and family therapy clinic intake packet. ANCOVA was used to control for gender and setting in determining if group differences existed on the SAFE based on measures assessing interpersonal violence, relational adjustment, intrapersonal symptoms, and PTSD symptoms. Results indicated group differences based on gender, interpersonal violence victimization, and relational adjustment.     

性骚扰法律规制问题研究

国内外法学界关于以何种法律规制性骚扰的争论,实际上是关于性骚扰本质的争论,而性骚扰在本质上是侵权行为,应利用侵权行为法来规制性骚扰行为,鉴于性骚扰自身的特殊性和复杂性,建议单独制定一部《反性骚扰法》。     

The Impact of Psychological Injuries on Sexual Harassment Determinations

Although a plethora of studies focus on jury decision making in sexual harassment cases, few studies examine damage award assessments in such suits, and even fewer explore the impact of psychological injury on jurors’ liability and damage award assessments. In the present study, 342 undergraduates read a hostile environment sexual harassment case that manipulated the plaintiff’s psychological injury level (severe vs. mild vs. control) to investigate whether males and females made different damage decisions. Males using a reasonable person standard found more liability as the severity of the plaintiff’s psychological injury increased. However, males using a reasonable woman standard found less liability with the addition of any psychological injury information. Similarly, for mild and severe injuries, males using the reasonable woman standard awarded lower damages than males using the reasonable person standard. Females tended to find more harassment than males, but psychological injury and legal standard had little impact on females’ legal decisions. We discuss these findings in light of the positive relationship often observed between the plaintiff’s injury severity level and pro-plaintiff verdicts.     

The Question to Substitute Responsibility in the Workplace Sexual Harassment

雇主对职场中发生的性骚扰行为承担责任的性质,存在着替代责任说和自己责任说两种相对立的观点.解决职场性骚扰情况下雇主责任的承担有两种路径:侵权责任法和劳动法.通过侵权责任法解决职场性骚扰的责任,雇主承担对自己安全保障义务违反的不作为责任,属于过错责任,自己责任.在劳动社会保障法领域,雇主承担对劳动者保护的法定义务,应该提供给劳动者较好的工作环境,如果雇员违反法定义务致使雇员受到损害,雇主应该承担赔偿责任,是违反劳动法规定的法定义务承担的后果,其实质仍然是一种自己责任.     

职场性骚扰雇主替代责任说质疑

雇主对职场中发生的性骚扰行为承担责任的性质,存在着替代责任说和自己责任说两种相对立的观点。解决职场性骚扰情况下雇主责任的承担有两种路径：侵权责任法和劳动法。通过侵权责任法解决职场性骚扰的责任,雇主承担对自己安全保障义务违反的不作为责任,属于过错责任,自己责任。在劳动社会保障法领域,雇主承担对劳动者保护的法定义务,应该提供给劳动者较好的工作环境,如果雇员违反法定义务致使雇员受到损害,雇主应该承担赔偿责任,是违反劳动法规定的法定义务承担的后果,其实质仍然是一种自己责任。     

Closing the Gaps: Plaintiffs in Pivotal Sexual Harassment Cases

When he wrote Debtors in Court almost 30 years ago, Herbert Jacob laid the foundation for the legal mobilization research that has flourished in recent years. In arguing that litigants were political actors, Jacob showed that their social identities and Communications networks influenced their decisions to use the power of the law to vindicate their interests. This paper builds on Jacob's original insights to analyze the origins of the claim for sexual harassment as a Title VII violation. By focusing on the women who filed those claims, the paper examines the interaction of class, gender, and race that created social distance between the women and their harassers and employers. This distance made informal resolution of their disputes impossible, requiring the intervention of third parties. In addition, their Communications networks led them to attorneys able to generate and expand the new claim for sexual harassment. This analysis of a particular moment in legal history reveals the potential political significance of private litigation.     

Social Influence in Eyewitness Recall: A Meta-Analytic Review of Lineup Instruction Effects

Past research has considered the impact of biased police lineup instructions upon eyewitness lineup performance. Biased instructions either suggest to the eyewitness that the perpetrator is in the lineup or otherwise discourage a no choice response. A meta-analysis of 18 studies was employed to review the hypothesis that biased instructions lead to greater willingness to choose and less accurate lineup identifications than do unbiased instructions. The role of moderating variables in the instruction procedure was also considered. In support of the hypothesis, a significantly higher level of choosing followed biased instructions. Lineup type moderated performance accuracy, however. For target-absent lineups the increased level of choosing following biased instructions resulted in reduced identification accuracy. Biased instructions within a target-present lineup generated a higher level of confidence, but had minimal impact on accuracy. Implications for police practice are discussed.     

Racial Bias in Mock Juror Decision-Making: A Meta-Analytic Review of Defendant Treatment

Common wisdom seems to suggest that racial bias, defined as disparate treatment of minority defendants, exists in jury decision-making, with Black defendants being treated more harshly by jurors than White defendants. The empirical research, however, is inconsistent—some studies show racial bias while others do not. Two previous meta-analyses have found conflicting results regarding the existence of racial bias in juror decision-making (Mazzella & Feingold, 1994, Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 24, 1315–1344; Sweeney & Haney, 1992, Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 10, 179–195). This research takes a meta-analytic approach to further investigate the inconsistencies within the empirical literature on racial bias in juror decision-making by defining racial bias as disparate treatment of racial out-groups (rather than focusing upon the minority group alone). Our results suggest that a small, yet significant, effect of racial bias in decision-making is present across studies, but that the effect becomes more pronounced when certain moderators are considered. The state of the research will be discussed in light of these findings.     

Methods of Choice in Completed Suicides: Gender Differences and Review of Literature

Abstract:  Suicide is an important public health hazard worldwide. A 4-year retrospective study from January 2000 to December 2003 was conducted to identify the favored methods in realized suicides among males and females in the west coastal region of India. During the study period, a total of 539 cases of suicidal deaths were autopsied. Males were predominantly affected (male: female—1.9:1). The age of the victims ranged from 13 to 90 years in males (mean = 40.1 years, median = 37.0 years) and 15 to 85 years in females (mean = 36.6 years, median = 32.0 years). Most favored method of suicide amongst males and females was hanging (36.9%, n  = 199) followed by poisoning (34.7%, n  = 187). Male dominance was apparent for each method of suicide except for self-immolation. Males were relatively more likely to use hanging and poisoning while females were more likely to prefer drowning and self-immolation as methods of suicide. Relatively younger females (mean   = 33.0 years, median = 32.0 years) preferred hanging as a method of suicide when compared to males (mean = 42.4 years, median = 40.0 years). Among females, significantly younger females resorted to hanging when compared to older females who preferred drowning. On investigating the various theories proposed for choice of suicide methods in males and females in different regions we conclude that preference of method of suicide in men and women is complexly determined. In this region, availability, accessibility, popularity, and socioacceptability seem to be the major determinants in the choice of methods among males and females rather than violence associated and lethality of the method. Females were as likely to use lethal and violent methods as males in this region.     

解决中国社会性骚扰问题的制度性制约因素——一个法律视角的分析

最近,我国关于人格权保护的一个焦点问题就是性骚扰的问题,这一社会问题在中国呈演烈之势,性骚扰案也被评为2003年中国十大要案之一。本文分析几起典型案件的审理经纬,结合学者的观点,参考国外有关立法的规定,谈谈性骚扰问题困扰中国法律的几个因素,以期对从法律角度推动这一问     

美国的性骚扰概念及其发展

20世纪70年代,由于女权主义高涨和民权意识觉醒,美国女权主义法学家受<民权法案>启发,从性别歧视角度提出了性骚扰的概念.后经平等就业委员会的确认和联邦法院的一系列司法判例,美国在上世纪80年代中后期确立了较为完善的反性骚扰法律体系.但随着社会条件的变迁,性骚扰概念的内涵和外延通过诸多司法判例,在适用领域、受雇者范围、性别与性倾向、间接受害人、理性人、理性女性等方面获得了进一步发展.