Sexual harassment over the telephone: Definition, prevalence, types and coping

Though sexual harassment over the telephone is an everyday phenomenon, it h as received little attention within social research. To analyze this social phenomenon more thoroughly a representative study was conducted in Germany . In the first phase of the investigation, more than 3000 people were inter viewed about unwanted experiences they had had on the telephone during the preceding year. This inquiry yielded information about the various forms of harassment (groaning sexual insult etc.) and their prevalence. Prevalence of harassment as well as the degree of stress caused by this experience wer e analyzed in terms of gender and other variables. The second phase of the investigation focused on the process of coping by distributing a questionna ire to victims of sexual harassment over the telephone. The findings docume nt immediate emotional and cognitive reactions to sexual harassment over th e phone (fear,anger etc.) and the coping strategies employed (avoidance, po sitive self-instruction, search for social support etc.). The data were als o used to measure the extent to which theories of attribution, control and stress could predict the effectiveness of the coping process.