Definition of Sexual Harassment
Defining the term sexual harassment requires research beyond the basic dictionary. Unfortunately, the term “sexual harassment” is more complicated than the definition alone. In fact, sexual harassment is not defined in a dictionary. However, sexual harassment, broken in to two words, “sexual” and “harassment,” is definable. The “Oxford English Dictionary” defines the two by stating, “Sexual is of or pertaining to sex or the attribute of being male or female; existing or predicted with regard to sex. ... ” One way to define sexual harassment is to say that sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (www. ... Sexual harassment can take place anywhere: in a shopping mall, at work, at school, or even in the victim’s own home. Since “sexual harassment” is an ambiguous term, it is easier to take two separate forms of sexual harassment and define them to better understand the overall meaning of the term itself. Two forms of sexual harassment that occur in school are quid pro quo harassment and hostile environment harassment.