Professor/Student Sexual Harassment

In recent years, much has been done to raise awareness of sexual harassment in the workplace, and how to go about identifying and reporting such behavior. However, this practice still affects scores of workers, with more and more individuals reporting sexual harassment in an academic setting.

Under Title IX, sexual harassment falls under discrimination in an academic setting. Harassment in the academic setting can take many of the same forms it does in a work environment- name calling, unwanted advances, touching, inappropriate conversation, and more.

What makes sexual harassment in academia more difficult and problematic is that while harassment is defined as unwanted behavior, professors and administrators have a great degree of perceived power and control over students, often making it hard to achieve a true sense of consent. Professors, like employers and supervisors, can often take advantage of the relationship between student and teacher to get away with such unwanted sexual behavior.

Professors can make it seem as if willing participation in such activity is a requirement due to their relationship, and can often exert their influence in extreme ways. This behavior is different from other forms of sexual harassment in that it is an exploitation of the expectations of the student/teacher relationship. This is further compounded by the fact that tenured professors often enjoy relative job security and a high degree of professional respect.

Your Rights

As a student, you have rights to ensure that you do not have to tolerate sexual harassment. No individual should be subjected to or exploited by sexual harassment as carried out by professors. Contact our office today to explore your rights, and options for pursuing your case.

The Harman Firm serves the New York metropolitan area including Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Westchester, White Plains, Nassau and Suffolk Counties.