This project on gathering and sharing information about preventing pass the harasser, operates under the Response Theme Area of the Action Collaborative on Preventing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education. The Action Collaborative brings together academic and research institutions and key stakeholders to work toward targeted, collective action on addressing and preventing sexual harassment across all disciplines and among all people in higher education.

To contribute to efforts on improving how higher education responds to cases of sexual harassment, this project will develop a perspective paper on sanctioning and other early interventions for sexual harassment perpetrated by faculty members in higher education. The National Academies’ Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report notes that “progressive discipline (such as counseling, changes in work responsibilities, reductions in pay/benefits, and suspension or dismissal) that corresponds to the severity and frequency of the misconduct has the potential of correcting behavior before it escalates and without significantly disrupting an academic program” (The National Academies, 2018, pg. 144). The report also notes that using a range of disciplinary actions may also increase the likelihood that the harmed parties (i.e., individuals impacted by the sexual harassment) report the behavior, since they often choose not to report because of fear of disrupting the status quo and their own or other people’s academic career.

The paper will achieve the following:

1. Describe the landscape of higher education response systems for faculty sexual harassment based on sanctions and early interventions to correct behavior;
2. Highlight challenges and issues with current response systems for faculty accused of perpetrating sexual harassment in higher education institutions; and
3. Identify areas of research needed to improve responses to faculty sexual harassment in higher education response systems.