Posted on March 13, 2018 by Jana Schwartz
Social Work Professor Richard J. Harris, Demography Associate Professor Corey S. Sparks, and Daniel P. McDonald, Executive Director of Research, Development and Strategic Initiatives at the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute, published a new article entitled “Sexual Harassment in the Military: Individual Experiences, Demographics, and Organizational Contexts,” with a podcast available from Armed Forces & Society .
The article states that sexual harassment remains a large problem within the U.S. military despite policy initiatives to reduce the persistence of the incidences. Victims have experienced career disruption, loss of motivation, loss of self-esteem, lower job satisfaction, physical health issues, and other problems. Researchers used data from the Defense Equality Opportunity Climate Survey to assess organizational climates and individual experiences of harassment. In conclusion, both organizational factors (e.g., climate and culture of the military) and individual factors (e.g., power, status) are important. However, the organizational context has less to do with unit composition and cohesion and more to do with tolerance of sexism. A focus on problem units could help in reducing the prevalence of sexual harassment, as the report states.
To learn more, read the journal article here .
To listen to the podcast, click here or download the mp3 .
Armed Forces & Society (AFS) a quarterly publication with international scope publishes articles on civil-military relations, veterans, force effectiveness and diversity, military culture, officer education and training, military institutions, ethics, unit cohesion, military families, peacemaking, privatization, public opinion and conflict management.
— Jana Schwartz
