Work

Empathy deficits and perceived permissive environments: sexual harassment perpetration on college campuses

Year: 2019

Type: article

Abstract: Sexual harassment is a common experience among college students, and its perpetration may be associated with deficits in perspective taking -- a form of empathy -- and institutional factors such as climates. This investigation compared reported outcomes after sexual harassment and perceptions of institutional support between perpetrators and victims of sexual harassment. A total of 579 students responding to a campus climate survey indicated that they were victims or perpetrators of sexual harassment in the past seven months. Perpetrators of sexual harassment perceived that their victims experienced far fewer negative outcomes than victims reported actually experiencing. Additionally, victims of sexual harassment had significantly worse perceptions of institutional support than did perpetrators of sexual harassment. This information can be used to inform primary and secondary prevention methods utilized by universities.

Source: Journal of Sexual Aggression

DOI: 10.1080/13552600.2019.1651913

Authors: John Moore, Annelise Mennicke

Institutions: The University of Texas at Austin, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Language: English

Topic: Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies

Subfield: Gender Studies

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Peace, justice, and strong institutions, Reduced inequalities, Gender equality

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences