Professor’s Popular Web Site Attracts Sexual Harassment Questions

September 7, 2000

Philadelphia, Pa. -- When Penn State Associate Professor Nancy Wyatt developed a web site five years ago to provide up-to-date information about sexual harassment for a communications course, she figured it would be useful for her students.

Never in her wildest dreams did Wyatt — an associate professor of speech communication and women's studies who labels herself a 'feminist' -- think her web site would attain the international popularity that it has. As an example, the site recorded 7,998 visits from people in 43 countries between July 16 and August 13. It ranks among the most frequently used sexual harassment sites on the Internet, according to several search engines, and is part of The Citadel military college's sexual harassment tutorial.

"The more people who use it, the happier I am," Wyatt said from her office at Penn State’s Delaware County Campus near Philadelphia. "Many workplaces and schools have no education or training programs about sexual harassment, in spite of the legal requirement to do so."

As attention to her web site has increased, so has Wyatt's effort to help people deal with issues of sexual harassment. The professor personally answers every inquiry sent to her -- either offering her knowledge in the area, or referring the person to someone else who can help.

One such person was an eighth grade female student who wrote: "I was wondering if when a person calls you a slut or ugly or dirty, or said, 'I heard you charge a quarter, when and where I will be there,' and throws a quarter at you, is that sexual harassment? I am put through that every day, and how can I stop that?"

After Wyatt assured her that she was, indeed, being harassed, the young girl decided that she wasn't going to take it any more. She wrote back to Wyatt: "I think writing to you inspired me. I talked to my principal and have transferred to a new class. I solved my problem and the principal will talk to them. Thank you for responding."

"Everyone told this girl, 'Boys will be boys and you have to put up with it,'" said Wyatt, "but that's wrong and you don't have to put up with it. It makes my whole day to be able to help someone like this. But on other days, I hear about truly awful cases and I can't do anything about it." While Wyatt can provide information and guidance, some situations arise where the harassment victim has few opportunities to create a positive outcome.

Correspondence from people who really need help keeps Wyatt actively updating the site, which is not a part of her regular activities at Penn State. She doesn't claim to be an expert on the issue, but Wyatt knows the basics and keeps current with legal and theoretical developments.

Wyatt believes that, generally speaking, sexual harassment is not the result of a desire for intimate contact.

"It's about power -- that's my personal opinion. It's not about sex," she said. "It usually happens because someone thinks that women don't belong in the workplace, at a university, or wherever."

Wyatt thinks that many times, harassers don't know their behavior is offensive.

"When appropriate, I encourage people to tell the offender that what they did was offensive," she said. "You have to give them the opportunity to say they didn't mean to offend you and that they are sorry and will cease the inappropriate behavior. If that's enough, then that's the end of it. If not, you have to take formal action."

The face of sexual harassment is changing rapidly, said Wyatt, as the legal system continues to show less tolerance toward same-sex offenders and offenders in venues that traditionally may have been ignored, and scholars develop theoretical perspectives from

which to understand and deal with harassment. For that reason, web sites such as Wyatt's that frequently update content are in demand.

And that could link Wyatt to her web site for a long time.

"My web site is important because it gives people information about harassment from a variety of perspectives and in a form that's easy to use," said Wyatt. "If I took it down, then I would be taking away an important service for people all over the world."

**dxj*

Contact:

David Jwanier, Penn State/Philadelphia (610) 648-3276 .

EDITORS: Wyatt's site is at: www.de.psu.edu/harass/intro.htm