What Constitutes Sexual Harassment?
The bigger they are, the harder they fall. That certainly seems to be the case with the rash of sexual misconduct allegations that have hit Hollywood, the media, politics and even the celebrity restaurant industry.
Religion and culture expert and author Dr. Alex McFarland (alexmcfarland.com) has been following the news and commenting on this trend and its effects on society.
“While Americans define sexual harassment in a variety of ways, sexual misconduct of all kinds is out of control in our culture,” said McFarland, who is also Director for Christian Worldview and Apologetics at the Christian Worldview Center of North Greenville University (NGU,ngu.edu) in Greenville, S.C. “The recent attention toward sexual harassment is much-needed, but the only adequate response is a heart turned to God. He can both forgive those who have committed such acts and strengthen victims who have endured mistreatment. Jesus often excelled above His culture’s norms in showing respect to women. Christian men today must seek to likewise provide a godly example in our actions and interactions with others.”
A new study from Barna Research, led by well-known social science research George Barna, asked which behaviors Americans constituted as “sexual harassment.” The national survey of U.S. adults conducted shortly after the reports surfaced about Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein report found that the answers tended to differ based on gender. For instance, the study discovered the following:
- Americans say sexual harassment is most often about being touched or groped (women: 96 percent, men: 86 percent) or being forced to do something sexual (women: 91 percent, men: 83 percent).
- However, respondents said sexual misconduct covers more than these extremes, including someone touching themselves intentionally (women: 89 percent, men: 76 percent), making sexual comments about someone’s looks or body (women: 86 percent, men: 70 percent) and sharing intimate photos or videos of someone without their permission (women: 85 percent, men: 71 percent).
- Tragically, three in 10 American adults (29 percent) responded they had been sexually harassed (women: 42 percent, men: 16 percent).
Read the full Barna study here.
McFarland recently announced the 2018 Truth for a New Generation (TNG, TruthforaNewGeneration.com
