Revisiting Sexual Harassment of Undergraduate Women 1989 and 1993

Abstract

This article presents a comparison of 1989 and 1993 studies of the sexual harassment of undergraduate women (seniors, nontransfers) at a northeastern public university in the United States. Results suggest that these incidents have decreased over the last 4 years (from 25% in 1989 to 20% in 1993) but that sexual harassment remains a continuing problem, with approximately one in every five women likely to experience an incident of sexual harassment by her senior year. Although approximately a third of students continue to cite faculty members as perpetrators, and several mention personnel in other areas of the university, most women continue to report other students as perpetrators. The results strongly suggest that measures taken by university personnel to combat sexual harassment, since the 1989 study, may be responsible for the decrease in reported incidents, but still more needs to be done.