Title

Rape culture and the workplace: How do we change it?

Presenter Information

Alexandra ZelinFollow

Department

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Dept. of Psychology

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

A recent focal article submitted by Cortina et al. (2017) to the Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice journal discusses the need for workplace literature to move away from victim precipitation. Essentially, we as I-O Psychologists need to follow the path of researchers in areas such as criminology and stop placing blame on the victims for being recipients of certain behaviors. The problem with this sentiment is that if we do not measure others’ perceptions of victim behavior in our research we are effectively ignoring the realities of workplace culture, especially when it comes to sexual harassment and sexual assault. As is, our culture perpetuates the ideations of a “rape culture” in that gender-based and sexual harassment are often ignored or excused, and women are considered at fault for being victimized (e.g., “Did you see what she was wearing?”). Much of my research and applied work on this topic focuses on dispelling the rape myth ideology that exists on college campuses in three ways: debunking rape myths, teaching students how to be empowered bystanders, and challenging the presence of a rape culture. This session will focus on applying these principles to workplace culture to be welcoming for women of all backgrounds. By making this culture change we really can leave behind the premise of victim blaming. In this session, you will learn: How to be an empowered bystander when witnessing sexual harassment/sexual assault How to challenge the presence of a rape culture

Date

October 2017

Subject

Industrial and organizational psychology

Document Type

presentations

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

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Rape culture and the workplace: How do we change it?

A recent focal article submitted by Cortina et al. (2017) to the Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice journal discusses the need for workplace literature to move away from victim precipitation. Essentially, we as I-O Psychologists need to follow the path of researchers in areas such as criminology and stop placing blame on the victims for being recipients of certain behaviors. The problem with this sentiment is that if we do not measure others’ perceptions of victim behavior in our research we are effectively ignoring the realities of workplace culture, especially when it comes to sexual harassment and sexual assault. As is, our culture perpetuates the ideations of a “rape culture” in that gender-based and sexual harassment are often ignored or excused, and women are considered at fault for being victimized (e.g., “Did you see what she was wearing?”). Much of my research and applied work on this topic focuses on dispelling the rape myth ideology that exists on college campuses in three ways: debunking rape myths, teaching students how to be empowered bystanders, and challenging the presence of a rape culture. This session will focus on applying these principles to workplace culture to be welcoming for women of all backgrounds. By making this culture change we really can leave behind the premise of victim blaming. In this session, you will learn: How to be an empowered bystander when witnessing sexual harassment/sexual assault How to challenge the presence of a rape culture