WHY DIDNT SHE JUST REPORT HIM - THE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF WOMENS RESPONSES TO SEXUAL HARASSMENT

The last few years have seen an increasing awareness of sexual harassment as an important social problem with serious implications for individuals and organizations alike, leading to increased attempts to understand how victims respond to this stressful and sometimes traumatic experience. The present article reviews the behavioral science research on responses to sexual harassment, including their links to outcomes and consequences. We then present an alternative to the frequently invoked assertiveness paradigm, derived from the cognitive-behavioral stress and coping framework. We examine our paradigm in the context of legal proceedings that, in effect, hold the victim responsible for responding appropriately; explore the more general implications of placing the burden of nonconsent on the victim; and conclude with a discussion of this research for an emerging legal theory of sexual harassment.