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Surveying Sexual Harassment On Campus

According to a new study over a third of American college students have experienced sexual harassment, ranging from receiving pornography via e-mail to groping. Forty one percent of those surveyed admitted to sexually harassing other students, and a common reason was that they thought it was "funny."

"Drawing the Line: Sexual Harassment On Campus," a representative survey of 2,036 undergraduates in U.S. colleges and universities carried out by the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation, was based on confidential interviews with students. Some of the students surveyed reported instances of being whistled at, or "catcalled," on campus grounds, while others spoke of members of the opposite sex flashing at them, people spreading rumors about their sex life and in one case strewing condoms in a dorm room.

A third of survey respondents admitted they were physically intimidated with abuse ranging from being touched inappropriately to being forced to perform sexual favors. The survey, conducted online last year, found that 62 percent of respondents, including 61 percent of men, say they were sexually harassed in some way, including demeaning taunts, flashing or sexual jokes.