Book chapter
A Trauma-Informed Perspective on Sexual Harassment
What the #MeToo Movement Highlights and Hides about Workplace Sexual Harassment, pp 131-153
2025
Abstract
The #MeToo movement put a spotlight on horrific details of sexual harassment (SH) incidents and the magnitude of the shared experience of SH across the human population (Le Bars, 2022). In the wake of this movement, we are left wondering what toll SH leaves on its targets and the society that failed to prevent it. SH is a form of sexual violence (Grosser & Tyler, 2022), and in this chapter, we argue that workplace SH is a potentially traumatic event that can cause long-lasting harm, including post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD (Willness et al., 2007). The purpose of this chapter is to shine a spotlight on a "trauma-informed" perspective of workplace SH. We first define trauma and make our case that SH is a potentially traumatic event. Then, we describe common responses to trauma and how these might relate to workplace SH. Finally, we will offer a possibility for trauma-informed work organizations and the new research questions that follow from this perspective.
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Details
- Title
- A Trauma-Informed Perspective on Sexual Harassment
- Creators
- Sandra L. BloomShannon L. Rawski
- Contributors
- Anne M. O'Leary-Kelly (Editor)Shannon L. Rawski (Editor)
- Publication Details
- What the #MeToo Movement Highlights and Hides about Workplace Sexual Harassment, pp 131-153
- Publisher
- Routledge
- Edition
- 1
- Resource Type
- Book chapter
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Health Management and Policy
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-105003364534
- Other Identifier
- 991022041864204721