Handling Harassment

Return to main article:

Reviewing the evolution and enforcement of a sexual harassment policy for FAS in "Sex and Secrecy at Harvard College" (January-February 1992, page 67), author Edward L. Pattullo cited the Faculty Coordinating Committee on Sexual Harassment's 1990 report. It stated that sanctions in the nine formal cases brought in the preceding five years ranged from a cautionary letter, to unpaid leave, to "instructions that the individual have no further contact with...students, faculty or staff and no access to University property, and a required date of resignation was set." Pattullo noted that the very existence of such extreme cases is "made known only to those immediately involved, except...in annual reports available to faculty members on request but otherwise not circulated" to the College.

The committee's most recent report (for the 1995-96 academic year) lists 11 instances of "informal intervention" and 22 instances of "direct advice" (discussion of the incident and possible courses of action) resulting from officer-undergraduate encounters. Peer (student) contacts generated 1 formal complaint, 9 informal interventions, and 14 instances of direct advice. The report noted the assistant dean for coeducation's belief that "the continuing rise in these numbers does not reflect an increase in incidence so much as it does an increase in the awareness of and availability of the Adjunct Advisers, whom the students...seem more willing to approach for help."

Read more articles by Tara B. Purohit
Related topics

You might also like

Judge Dismisses Case Demanding Harvard Admissions Data

The government failed to meet procedural requirements before suing the University.

Harvard Graduate Workers Begin Strike

In the second walkout in six months, union leaders call for better pay and benefits and a stronger grievance process.

Harvard College Applications Surge 15 Percent

Of 1,648 students in the class of 2030, 39 percent will pay no tuition.

Most popular

New Names Proposed for Harvard Extension School Degrees

Long pushed for, the changes would be part of a broader rebranding for the Division of Continuing Education.

Harvard Academic Workers Begin Strike

A second union joined graduate students on the picket line, emptying labs and classrooms.

Remembering Judge Richard A. Posner

Contributing editor Lincoln Caplan’s 2015 feature of the prolific judge

Explore More From Current Issue

Ancient Egyptian painted sarcophagus with detailed hieroglyphs and a woman's face.

A rare Egyptian mummy case is on display at the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East.

Delicate green cocoa pods and small white flowers on a tree branch, surrounded by soft greenery.

Harvard researchers investigate climate’s impact on cocoa crops, innovations in nasal vaccines, and links between pain and skull marrow.

Colorful icons representing sleep, fruit, speech, and a mind with a water lily.

Take this quiz on six healthy habits that Harvard doctors recommend