WASHINGTON — The Action Collaborative on Preventing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education today released three new individually authored publications to serve as resources for higher education institutions as they work to prevent sexual harassment and mitigate the damage it causes.

A perspective paper examines procedural justice — the level of fairness individuals perceive when considering how outcomes of a particular decision are made — in the context of sexual harassment. Applying Procedural Justice to Sexual Harassment Policies, Processes, and Practice explores how a procedural justice framework could help guide improvements to policies, processes, and practices within higher education institutions, with the potential to mitigate the negative experiences and outcomes of those affected by sexual harassment. 

Two documents describe innovative policies to prevent “passing the harasser,” a term that refers to a known harasser transitioning from one institution to another without facing disciplinary action and/or without the new employer’s knowledge of previous violations of sexual harassment policy or ongoing investigations of such violations. One paper describes an innovative policy at the University of California, Davis, and the other describes an innovative policy at the University of Wisconsin system.

The publications are available for immediate release. For questions, please contact the National Academies’ Office of News and Public Information at tel. 202-334-2138 or e-mail news@nas.edu.