THE PREVALENCE AND CONTEXT OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT AMONG AFRICAN-AMERICAN AND WHITE AMERICAN WOMEN

Ethnic differences in the prevalence, type, and outcome of sexual hara ssment in various work and social settings were examined in a stratifi ed community sample of 248 African American and White American women. Almost half of the women reported sexual harassment in work and social environments. Significant ethnic differences were found in the preval ence and type of sexual harassment and in victim characteristics in wo rk settings. Single African American victims of harassment in social s ettings were significantly more likely to have incomes at or below the poverty level compared to their White peers. The finding that signifi cantly more White than African American women reported sexual harassme nt in a workplace contradicts previous research and suggests the need for further study with multiethnic populations. Future research needs to include a variety of private and public social settings. Factors th at prevent women from taking action to remedy sexual harassment across settings should also be examined.