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Preventing Retaliation to Discourage Sexual Harassment

Completed

Individuals from the Remediation Working Group within the Action Collaborative on Preventing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education will take efforts to understand the legal framework of anti-retaliation laws and policies, and consider ways in which institutions can move beyond compliance and engage in practices that respond to and prevent retaliation.

Description

The Preventing Retaliation Project will develop a perspective paper to explore how retaliation is addressed within higher education contexts through anti-retaliation policies and practices. Retaliation is prohibited under several federal statutes as well as common institutional policies and procedures. However, the interpretation and implementation of anti-retaliation policies and practices is highly variable and may assume, contrary to evidence, that a policy’s prohibition of retaliation is sufficient to encourage targets of sexual harassment to report the misconduct despite fear of possible retaliation (National Academies 2018). The paper will provide:

  • Information on definitions, processes, and prevalence of retaliation claims in higher education;

  • Resources and suggestions to help institutions of higher education develop anti-retaliation plans; and

  • Research questions to help guide further inquiry into addressing retaliation within higher education contexts.

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