Examining Faculty-to-Student Consensual Sexual Relationship Policies on Campus: Have There Been Changes in the Era of #MeToo

Abstract

Although Title IX prohibits sex-based discrimination, including sexual harassment in institutions of higher education (IHEs), in the era of #MeToo, consensual faculty–student relationships have elicited significant attention. While some IHEs have developed consensual sexual relationship policies (CSRPs), little research to date has examined the content of such policies or whether IHEs have changed their policies as societal awareness regarding sexual harassment has increased. This study examined a stratified sample of IHEs, including state flagship, regional, and Ivy League schools (n = 56), to compare the type of CSRPs in 2011 and 2018 as well as changes in the content of such policies over the 7-year study period. Findings suggested that IHEs are becoming more restrictive in their CSRPs with movement toward limited bans and prohibitions; most policies discuss power differentials, include reporting requirements, and identify the use of sanctions for policy violations. Innovations in CSRPs include nuanced discussions of consent, placing the burden of proof on faculty to prove consent in allegations of sexual harassment, and including graduate students in CSRPs. Implications inform the debate regarding policies and procedures on campus sexual misconduct and advance the literature on evolving responses.

Keywords

sexual harassment reporting/disclosure sexual assault

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Alexander v. Yale, 631 F.2d 178 (2d Cir.) (1980).

Anderson

Toor

(2018, October 11). How social media users have discussed sexual harassment since #MeToo went viral. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/10/11/how-social-media-users-have-discussed-sexual-harassment-since-metoo-went-viral/

Bellas

M. L.

Gossett

J. L.

(2001). Love or the “lecherous professor”: Consensual sexual relationships between professors and students. The Sociological Quarterly, 42(4), 529–558. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1533-8525.2001.tb01779.x

Berg

B. L.

(2004). Qualitative research methods for the social sciences. Allyn & Bacon.

Blevins-Knabe

(1992). The ethics of dual relationships in higher education. Ethics & Behavior, 2(3), 151–163. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327019eb0203_2

Cantalupo

N. C.

Kidder

(2017). A systematic look at a serial problem: Sexual harassment of students by university faculty. Utah Law Review, 2018, 671–786.

Coastal Carolina University. (n.d.). Consensual relationships. Available from the authors.

Denzin

N. K.

Lincoln

Y. S.

(2003). Collecting and interpreting qualitative materials (2nd ed.). Sage.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (1990). Policy guidance on current issues of sexual harassment. Retrieved from https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/policy-guidance-current-issues-sexual-harassment

10.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). (1990). Policy guidance on current issues of sexual harassment. Retrieved from https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/policy-guidance-current-issues-sexual-harassment

11.

Fernandes, D. (2018, November 15). Dartmouth students sue over alleged sexual assault by professors. The Boston Globe. Retrieved, from https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/11/15/lawsuit-describes-century-animal-house-dartmouth-college/OVtrcSKDRJFTAWdvOWsyfL/story.html

12.

Flaherty, C. (2018, May 24). Academe sees a new wave of faculty-student relationship restrictions in the era of Me Too. Inside Higher ED. Retrieved from https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/05/24/academe-sees-new-wave-faculty-student-relationship-restrictions-era-me-too

13.

Gluckman

Read

Mangan

Quilantan

(2018, January 10). Sexual harassment and assault in higher ed: What’s happened since Weinstein. The Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/article/Sexual-HarassmentAssault/241757

14.

Huerta

Cortina

L. M.

Pang

J. S.

Torges

C. M.

Magley

V. J.

(2006). Sex and power in the academy: Modeling sexual harassment in the lives of college women. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32(5), 616–628. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167205284281

15.

Johnson

C. A.

Hawbaker

(2019, February 22). #MeToo: A timeline of events. Chicago Tribune. https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/ct-me-too-timeline-20171208-htmlstory.html

16.

Kafonek

Richards

T. N.

(2017). An examination of strategies for the primary prevention of gender-based violence at institutions of higher education: Prevalence and content from a nationally representative sample. Journal of School Violence, 16(3), 271–285. https://doi.org/10.1080/15388220.2017.1318576

17.

Karlin, R. (2018, October 9). SUNY sets faculty-student dating rules. Times Union. Retrieved, from https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/SUNY-sets-statewide-anti-harassment-rules-13293846.php

18.

Kalof

Eby

K. K.

Matheson

J. L.

Kroska

R. J.

(2001). The influence of race and gender on student self-reports of sexual harassment by college professors. Gender and Society, 15(2), 282–302. https://doi.org/10.1177/089124301015002007

19.

Kantor

Twohey

(2017, October 5). Harvey Weinstein paid off sexual harassment accusers for decades. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/us/harvey-weinstein-harassment-allegations.html

20.

Kelley

M. L.

Parsons

(2000). Sexual harassment in the 1990s. The Journal of Higher Education, 71(5), 548–568. https://doi.org/10.2307/2649259

21.

Kingkade, T. (2016, July 06). Why It's Harder For Grad Students To Report Sexual Harassment. Huffpost. Retrieved from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/grad-students-sexual-harassment_n_57714bc6e4b0dbb1bbbb37c7?utm_hp_ref=college

22.

Kingkade

(2016, November 5). Why don’t sexual assault victims report? Ask these college women. BuzzFeed News. https://www.buzzfeed.com/tylerkingkade/retaliation-reporting-sexualassault?utm_term_.leJBGq59oK#.ogBjRXmMyK

23.

Mack

M. H.

(1999). Regulating sexual relationships between faculty and students. Michigan Journal of Gender and Law, 6, 78–112.

24.

Mendes

Ringrose

Keller

(2018). #MeToo and the promise and pitfalls of challenging rape culture through digital feminist activism. European Journal of Women’s Studies, 25(2), 236–246. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350506818765318

25.

Northeastern State University. (2015, August 17). Gender-based discrimination and sexual misconduct discrimination policies and procedures. Retrieved from https://policies.nsuok.edu/BusinessFinance/HumanResources/Gender-BasedSexualDiscrimination(FacStaff).aspx

26.

Ohlheiser

(2017, October 19). The woman behind “Me Too” knew the power of the phrase when she created it—10 years ago. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2017/10/19/the-woman-behind-me-too-knew-the-power-of-the-phrase-when-she-created-it-10-years-ago/

27.

Princeton University. (n.d.). Consensual relations with students. Retrieved from https://dof.princeton.edu/policies-procedure/policies/consensual-relations-students

28.

Rhode

D. L.

(2006). Professional ethics of professors. Journal of Legal Education, 56(1), 70–85.

29.

Richards

T. N.

(2019). An updated review of institutions of higher education’s (IHEs) response to sexual assault: Results from a nationally representative sample. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 34(10), 1983–2012. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260516658757

30.

Richards

T. N.

Crittendden

Garland

T. S.

McGuffee

(2014). An exploration of policies governing faculty-to-student consensual sexual relationships on university campuses: Current strategies and future directions. Journal of College Student Development, 55(4), 337–352.

31.

Southern Utah University. (2017, March 24). Sexual misconduct. Retrieved from https://www.suu.edu/titleix/policies.html

32.

Timesupnow. (2019). History. https://timesupnow.org/about/our-story/

33.

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. § 1681. (1972).

34.

The University of Southern Maine. (2014, November). Guidelines regarding consenting relationships. Retrieved from https://www.maine.edu/board-of-trustees/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2019/11/The-Board-of-Trustees-policy-on-Sex-Discrimination.docx

35.

The University of Connecticut. (n.d.b.). Inappropriate amorous relationships. Available from the authors.

36.

University of Connecticut. (n.d.a.). Consensual relationship policy. Available from the authors.

37.

University of Oklahoma. (n.d.). Consensual relationship policy. Available from the authors.

38.

University of Oklahoma. (2012, January 24). Consensual sexual relationship policy. Retrieved from https://apps.hr.ou.edu/FacultyHandbook/#3.11

39.

University of Pennsylvania. (n.d.). Consensual relationship policy. Available from the authors.

40.

University of Pennsylvania. (2018, March 27). Consensual sexual relations between faculty and students. https://almanac.upenn.edu/articles/of-record-consensual-sexual-relations-between-faculty-and-students

41.

University of Pittsburgh. (2017, March 29). Consensual relationship policy. Retrieved from https://cfo.pitt.edu/policies/documents/Policy07-14-01web.pdf

42.

University of Puget Sound. (2018, August 17). Campus policy prohibiting sexual misconduct. Retrieved from https://www.pugetsound.edu/about/offices-services/human-resources/policies/campus-policies/campus-policy-prohibiting-sexual-misconduct/

43.

University of Southern Indiana. (n.d.). Sexual misconduct and relationship violence policy. Available from the authors.

44.

University of Tennessee. (2016, June 24.). Relationships with students. Retrieved from https://facultyhandbook.utk.edu/rights-responsibilities/responsibilities/

45.

University of Texas. (2017). Consensual relationships. Retrieved from https://policies.utexas.edu/policies/consensual-relationships

46.

U.S. Department of Education & Office for Civil Rights. (1997). Sexual harassment guidance 1997. https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/sexhar01.html

47.

White House Task Force to Protect Students From Sexual Assault. (2014). Not alone: First report of the White House Task Force To Protect Students From Sexual Assault. Retrieved from https://www.notalone.gov/assets/report.pdf