SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND ASSAULT CHILLING THE - CLIMATE FOR WOMEN IN ACADEMIA

An extensive body of literature has documented the widespread and dama ging nature of sexual harassment and assault on college campuses, yet little research has investigated the impact of such victimization on t he academic climate. This study examined experiences of sexual harassm ent and assault among 1,037 female undergraduate and graduate students with a particular focus on educational outcomes. Multivariate analyse s of variance revealed significant negative effects of harassment and assault on perceptions of academic climate. We also investigated the e xtent and effects of double victimization (i.e., experiences of both h arassment and assault), as well as the relationships among sexual hara ssment types, incidence rates, and frequencies. Issues of sexual orien tation and race/ethnicity are explored throughout the article, with me mbership in different groups affecting victimization incidence rates a s well as harassment labeling.