P108 - Uncovering Gender Bias: How Legal Professionals Perceive Sexual Harassment

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Abstract

Sexual harassment (SH) is a prevalent form of violence affecting millions worldwide. While prohibited by law, not all countries classify SH as a criminal offense, and the laws against SH are often subject to interpretation. Legal professionals' perceptions of what constitutes SH are particularly significant, especially in jurisdictions where SH is subject to criminal law and trials are adjudicated by judges rather than lay juries. In Israel, SH is indeed considered a criminal offense, and trials are conducted by judges. The purpose of the present study was to examine Israeli lawyers’ perceptions of SH and whether their interpretation of SH is affected by the sex of the perpetrator and victim. Ninety-one lawyers were compared to 120 students in their evaluations of behavior as SH and attributions of perpetrator and victim blame. The participants were presented with case descriptions of SH that were identical in all aspects but the perpetrator and victim’s sex, which was alternately depicted as male/female or female/male. Results showed that both lawyers and students were more inclined to regard the behavior as SH when the perpetrator was a man (i.e., female victim) than a woman (i.e., male victim). Gender bias was also evident in the participants’ blame attributions, which were higher toward a male (vs. female) harasser. Nonetheless, lawyers attributed higher perpetrator blame and were less victim-blaming than students. The results suggest that lawyers may be stereotypically biased by gender in their perceptions of SH. Training and expansion of educational systems may help change views and dispel common myths, promoting equal treatment of SH victims by the law.

Authors

• Liza Zvi, Ariel University

• Liza Zvi, Ariel University

• Mally Shechory Bitton, Ariel University