Definition of Harassment

Definition of Harassment

Society faces various types of harassment; harassments that are likely to occur on campus are sexual harassment, academic harassment and power harassment. The definitions and case examples of the three types of harassment are given below.

Definition of Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment refers to any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature and physical behavior or verbal expressions arising from a sexually discriminative disposition. In determining whether a particular act constitutes sexual harassment, consideration will be given to the impression of the offended person(including faculty or staff members and students, as well as specified entrusted business operators(*)), whether he/she finds it disagreeable or not.

Reciprocal sexual harassment

This refers to verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature committed by a person in a position of authority in relationships related to education, research, work, or student life where the victim may benefit if he/she accedes or may be harmed if he/she does not accede. For example, this could occur in situations related to evaluating academic research, determining course grades, giving course credits, or making personnel decisions related to status and promotion.

Environmental sexual harassment

This refers to verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that causes a feeling of discomfort and creates a hostile or offensive educational or working environment, such as persistent acts of unwelcome physical contact, sexual advances, sexual remarks about a person’s body, staring at a person’s body and conversation of a sexual nature. Verbal or physical conduct based on disdain or discrimination against the opposite sex, such as demanding tea to be served or the room to be cleaned by a person simply because she is a woman, is also considered to be sexual harassment.

Definition of Academic Harassment

Academic harassment refers to inappropriate verbal or physical actions taken by faculty members toward students or other faculty members in the course of their education, research, or work by taking advantage of the power relationships or hierarchical relationships in education and research.
For example, a student may be forced by a professor or other person to do personal chores, and when he or she refuses, may be unfairly reprimanded, making it difficult for the student to attend classes. Such harassment will not be tolerated as it undermines students’ motivation to study, their learning environment, or the working environment of faculty members.

Definition of Power Harassment

Inappropriate words or deeds in the course of employment by a faculty member who improperly uses his/her position or authority in the course of his/her duties against other faculty members, etc. (including specified entrusted business operators(*)) by taking unfair advantage of their position or authority in the workplace. For example, a faculty member was ordered by his/her supervisor to perform for apparently excessive work and he/she protested, the supervisor advised him/her to resign, saying, “If you don’t like it, you should quit.
Also, intimidating a specified entrusted business operators(*) into not paying remuneration or reducing remuneration without just cause, or repeatedly refusing to accept deliverables and forcing the recipient to redo them in order to harass the recipient, also fall under this category of harassment.

Definition of Harassment related to pregnancy, childbirth, and child/family care leave

Inappropriate words or actions (excluding those deemed necessary for safety considerations, etc.) by faculty members toward (1) other female faculty members etc.(including specified entrusted business operators(*))who are pregnant or giving birth or using related systems, or (2) other faculty members etc.((including specified entrusted business operators(*)) who are using systems related to childcare or family care leave, etc.

*A “specified entrusted business operator” is a party that has been entrusted with a business outsourcing contract by our school corporation(our university) and meets any of the following criteria.
(1) An individual who does not employ employees.
(2) A corporation that has no other directors other than a single representative and does not employ any employees.