RU Professor Emerita Sheds Light on Sexual Harassment in the Criminal Justice System

Do not be deceived by the recency of the attention that sexual harassment is receiving, as the term and legal definition only came to be in the last 40 years. During the last few years, the #metoo movement and many other issues have been very present on social media, the news, and print, drawing attention to the stories of women and young girls who have experienced sexual harassment and assault.

This seminar took a deeper look at stories that gave a face to the problem of sexual harassment and assault. People whose cases that made it to the supreme court include: Anita Hill and Christine Blasey Ford who testified before the Senate, and women in the workplace, academics, and the military who have first hand experienced these persistent issues.

The most important part of this movement is the women behind it who shared their experiences and put awareness into motion. “It’s women who brought the issue to law and it’s important to have women share their experiences and formulate these laws and legal arguments,” says Mary Atwell.

Mary Welek Atwell is Professor Emerita of Criminal Justice at Radford University. She holds a PhD from Saint Louis University. Dr. Atwell taught at Hollins University and served on the Radford University faculty for 25 years. She is the author of five books including Equal Protection of the Law? Gender and Justice in the United States; Wretched Sisters: Examining Gender and Capital Punishment; and Sexual Harassment in the United States: Analyzing the Hostile Environment, as well as numerous other publications dealing with gender, law, and capital punishment.

This seminar took a deeper look at stories that gave a face to the problem of sexual harassment and assault. People whose cases that made it to the supreme court include: Anita Hill and Christine Blasey Ford who testified before the Senate, and women in the workplace, academics, and the military who have first hand experienced these persistent issues.

Atwell began her presentation by sharing her most important idea saying, “It’s an issue of power.” The perspective of the subordinates is a crucial piece of analyzing sexual harassment and determining judicial action. “We aren’t looking at the victim’s response, we are looking at the behavior of the harasser,” says Atwell.

When asked what sexual harassment is, there is a legal term but “I think we know it when we see it,” says Atwell. She explained that sexual harrassment is a civil offense and the harrassers do not go to prison. The origin of sexual harrassment came about from a workplace environment perspective, for example being harassed at a job.

After listening to Atwell speak about her passion for gender and criminal justice brought light to the pertinence of sexual assault and harassment not only in the workplace, but in academia where Title IX comes in. Title IX states that no one shall be discriminated against in any educational program or activity related to it.

As her presentation came to an end, the 30 participants were encouraged to ask questions. One question, “How does the prominence of social media effect the issue of sexual harassment in today’s day and age?” The response from Atwell said, “the fear or embarrassment of telling their story can be faced by the anonymity of the internet and can encourage women to speak out. “But there is also bad that comes with this phase of new media: harassers have a new venue, they can go outside the workplace and follow you home,” says Atwell.