FOREWORD - Wentworth Institute of Technology

WIT Employee HandbookAppendix Asituations which share a common element: the unwelcome and inappropriateintroduction of sexual activities or comments into the work environment.Sexual harassment often involves relationships of unequal power. Such situationsmay contain elements of coercion, such as when compliance with requests forsexual favors becomes criterion for granting privileges or favorable treatment onthen job. However, sexual harassment may also involve relationships amongpersons of equal authority or power, such as when repeated advances ordemeaning verbal comments by a co-worker towards another co-worker have aharmful effect on a person’s ability to perform his or her work. Sexual harassmentcan also involve employee behavior directed at non-employees or non-employeebehavior directed at employees.Depending upon the circumstances, examples of sexual harassment could includesuch conduct as the following.• Repeated offensive sexual flirtations, advances or propositions which areoffensive• Verbal abuse or innuendo of a sexual nature which is continued or repeated• Physical contact such as touching, hugging, patting or pinching which isuninvited and unwanted by the other person• Verbal comments of a sexual nature about an individual’s body or sexualterms used to describe an individual• An open, offensive display of sexually suggestive objects or pictures• Jokes or remarks of a sexual nature• Unwanted prolonged and apparent staring or leering at a person• Obscene gestures or suggestive or insulting sounds made towards peoplewho find them offensive• The demand for sexual favors accompanied by an implied or overt threat• Inappropriate remarks about an individual’s employment status or promises ofpreferential treatment• Indecent exposure• Romantic involvement between supervisors and subordinates that is known toothers in the workplace and which impacts the workplace in areas such asassignments, advancement and benefitsc. Dispelling Common Myths About Harassers and VictimsSexual harassment is not limited to prohibited behavior by a male employee towarda female employee or by a supervisory employee toward a non-supervisoryemployee. Depending upon the circumstances, sexual harassment can be found inany of the following types of situations.• A man as well as a woman may be the victim of sexual harassment, and awoman as well as a man may be the harasser.March 200985