What Is Sexual Harassment?

• sexually offensive remarks or conduct
  
  
• repeated or persistent remarks, jokes, or other actions that are demeaning to one's sex or sexual orientation
  
  
• unwanted physical contact
  
  
• request or demands for sexual favors accompanied by implicitly or explicitly promised rewards or threatened punishment
  
  
• attempted or completed physical sexual assault

 

Sexual harassment can have an impact on any member of the college community regardless of sex or sexual orientation. It can occur between two people whether or not they are in a relationship where one has power over the other, or if they are of different sexes. Victims can be women or men, students or members of the faculty or staff, superiors, subordinates, or peers. Sexual harassment may result from a conscious or unconscious action, and can be subtle or blatant. It can be verbal or physical, and can occur in any setting. The context of events is important in determining whether particular acts constitute sexual harassment.

College Policy

A healthy and productive educational community is one in which students, faculty, and all staff treat each other with mutual respect. Such a community requires an atmosphere free of discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, race, color, national, ethnic origin, religion, creed, age, or disability. Sexual harassment, a form of discrimination based on sex or sexual orientation, clearly endangers such an atmosphere and is not tolerated at Williams College. Behavior that constitutes sexual harassment is also prohibited by both state and federal laws.

The College's definition of sexual harassment, which is based on the definition formulated by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and state legislation, is as follows:

Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when
 

1.  submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment, instruction, or participation in other college activities, or

2.  submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as a basis for making academic, employment, or personnel decisions affecting that individual, or

3.  such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's performance by creating an intimidating or hostile educational or working environment.
 

Sexual harassment breaches the trust that should exist among members of an educational community. Sexual harassment can disturb the climate in classroom, residence, or workplace, and alter the course of one's education or career, presenting obstacles to the free and full development of an individual. It can, moreover, cause serious and lasting harm to an individual. The College is committed, therefore, to taking whatever action may be needed to prevent, correct, and, if necessary, discipline behavior that constitutes sexual harassment.

--Taken verbatim from the College's "Revised Sexual Harassment Policy and Non-Discrimination Policy and Grievance Procedures." A copy of the policy is available in the Student Handbook. Additional copies are available in the offices of the Dean of the College, the Dean of the Faculty, the Vice President for Administration, the Assistant to the President, Personnel, and Health Services.

Power Issues

Persons in positions of authority need to be sensitive to the potential for coercion in sexual relationship which also involve professional relationships, even if the sexual relationships in question began as consensual. Sexual harassment which exploits the power and authority invested in faculty and staff by the College will not be tolerated.