Harassment Among Consenting Adults

Chapter 7 examines a type of harassment allegation in which the wrong-doing is based on the presumptive harasser’s institutional position—the fact that he or she occupies a higher status and has greater power than the presumptive victim. While individuals accused of this kind of harassment and their presumptive victims may claim that they began a sexual relationship freely and willingly, without coercion, investigators sometimes argue that a relationship with a substantial power imbalance—for example, involving a professor and student—is inherently coercive since it takes place under the cloak of the professor’s greater power and authority.