Abstract
Sexual harassment is a well-known social problem that affects people at work, school, military installations, and social gatherings (Barak 2005). A worldwide phenomenon (Barak 1997), it has been thoroughly investigated in recent decades in terms of prevalence, correlates, individual and organizational outcomes, and prevention; the range of studies provides an interdisciplinary perspective covering psychological, sociological, medical, legal, and educational aspects of the phenomenon. Although men face harassment, women are the most likely victims.
Keywords
- Sexual Harassment
- Internet User
- Sexual Coercion
- Internet Service Provider
- Chat Room
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsNotes
- 1.
See Roberts and Mann (2011)
- 2.
See The Center For Health And Gender Equity (1999)
- 3.
See Internet Harassment, available at www.unc.edu, (visited 08/08/2011).
- 4.
Ibid.
- 5.
Arizona Criminal Code (1995): 13–2921.
- 6.
Alaska Criminal Law Section 11.41.270.
- 7.
Connecticut Penal Code Section 53a–183.
- 8.
New York Penal Code § 240.30.
- 9.
Oklahoma Code (1996): § 21–1173.
- 10.
Wyoming Code, 6–2–506.
- 11.
A “telecommunications system” is defined in Section 4(1) of the Telecommunications Act 1984 as “a system for the conveyance, through the agency of electric, magnetic, electro-magnetic, electro-chemical or electro-mechanical energy, of:
(a) Speech, music and other sounds.
(b) Visual images.
(c) Signals serving for the impartation…..of any matter otherwise than in the form of sounds or visual images…”.
- 12.
The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, s.92 increased the maximum fine for an offence under section 43 to level 5 from level 3 and made it an imprisonable offence with a maximum term of 6 months. The new sentencing powers brings the penalty more into line with the maximum sentence for transmitting indecent or obscene material through the post (which is 12 months’ imprisonment) contrary to Section 11(2) of the Post Office Act 1953.
- 13.
Also note that the Malicious Communications Act 1988s. 1 creates an offence of sending letters which convey, inter alia, threats with the purpose of causing distress or anxiety. The Act does not however cover telecommunications messages.
- 14.
A person guilty of this offence is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months: s.2(2).
- 15.
A person guilty of this offence is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years: s.4(4).
References
A. Adam, in Cyberstalking: Gender and Computer Ethics, ed. by E. Green, A. Adam, Virtual Gender: Technology, Consumption and Identity (Routledge, London, 2001)
A. Barak, A. King, The two faces of the internet: introduction to the special issue on the internet and sexuality. CyberPsychology Behav. 3,517–520 (2000)
A. Barak, in Cross—Cultural Perspectives on Sexual Harassment, ed. by W. O’Donohue, Sexual Harassment: Theory, Research & Treatment, (Allyn & Bacon, Boston, 1997)
A. Barak, Sexual harassment on the internet. Soc. Sci. Comput. Rev. 23 (1), 77–92 (2005)
P. Bocij, Cyberstalking: Harassment in the Internet Age and How to Protect Your Family, Westport (Praeger, CT, 2004)
A. Cooper, G. Golden J. Kent-Ferraro, Online sexual behaviors in the workplace: how can human resource departments and employee assistance programs respond effectively? Sex. Addict. Compuls. 9, 149–165 (2002)
A. Cooper, I. McLoughlin, P. Reich, J. Kent-Ferraro, in Virtual Sexuality in the Workplace: A Wake-up Call for Clinicians, Employers and Employees, ed. by A. Cooper Sex and the Internet: A Guidebook for Clinicians, (Brunner-Routledge, New York, 2002), pp. 109–128
L. Ellison, Y. Akdeniz, Cyberstalking: The Regulation of Harassment on the Internet, Criminal Law Review, December, (1998)
L. Fitzgerld, V. Magley, F. Drasgow, C. Waldo, Measuring sexual harassment in the military, sexual experiences questionnaire (SEQ – DoD). Mil. Psychol. 11, 243–264 (1999)
L. Fitzgerald, M. Gelfand, F. Drasgow, Measuring sexual harassment: theoretical and psychometric advances. B. Appl. Soc. Psychol. 17,425–427 (1995)
J. Morahan-Martin, Women and the internet: promise and perils. CyberPsychology Behav. 3,683–692 (2000)
K. Mitchell, D. Finkelhor, J. Wolak, The exposure of youth to unwanted sexual material on the internet: a National Survey of Risk, Impact, and Prevention. Youth Soc. 34, 330–358 (2003)
J. Richman et al., Sexual harassment and generalized workplace abuse among university employees: prevalence and mental health correlates. Am. J. Public Health 89, 358–363 (1999)
S. Schenk et al., Cyber—sexual harassment: the development of the cyber—sexual experiences questionnaire. McNair J. 12(1), (2008)
J. Suler, To get what you need: healthy and pathological internet use. CyberPsychology Behav. 2, 385–394 (1999)
The Center For Health And Gender Equity, Ending violence against women (1999), www.info.k4health.org . Accessed 08 June 2011
F. Till, Sexual Harassment: A Report on the Sexual Harassment of Students (Advisory Council on Women’s Educational Programs, Washington DC, 1980)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Chawki, M., Darwish, A., Khan, M.A., Tyagi, S. (2015). Sexual Harassment in Cyberworld. In: Cybercrime, Digital Forensics and Jurisdiction. Studies in Computational Intelligence, vol 593. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15150-2_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15150-2_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-15149-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-15150-2
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)