UNELE ASPECTE CRIMINOLOGICE ALE HĂRȚUIRII SEXUALE

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to offer a critical analysis of the strengths and limitations embedded within the victimological embrace of the criminal victimization survey as a mode of measuring the nature and extent of sexual violence against women. This paper addresses and analyses the growing threat of sexual harassment. Although men face harassment, women are the most likely victims. Gender harassment involves unwelcome verbal and visual comments and remarks that insult individuals because of their gender or that use stimuli known or intended to provoke negative emotions. When sexual harassment is ignored or met with impunity, it can devastate the lives and careers of its targets, who are likely to exit their positions at great cost to themselves and society. Many open questions remain for both science and policy, including the extent to which sexual harassment is distinctive from other forms of deviance, violence, and criminal behavior. A criminological understanding of the phenomenon would aid in reducing such harm by developing systems for preventing, identifying, and controlling harassment.