Erased: Why faculty sexual misconduct is prevalent and how we could prevent it

Abstract

The issue of faculty sexual misconduct is pervasive within academia, and more specifically, our public affairs graduate programs. At least 13% of women in academia experience sexual harassment by a faculty member. For too long, we have relied upon an underground network of individuals who work behind the scenes to protect our students. In this statement to the discipline of public affairs, we call out the institutional designs that permit complicity. An unbalanced student-professor power dynamic, exploited student vulnerabilities, and a lack of effective checks and balances nurture an environment that lets misconduct proliferate. Perpetrators are shielded by institutional protections and loopholes designed to protect universities from liability. In this call to action, we employ the social ecological framework to define achievable steps for confronting sexual misconduct at all levels of our academic system. Finally, we unequivocally demand action, now.

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