Sex harassment affects most college students

Nearly two thirds of U.S. college students are affected by sexual harassment - ranging from offensive jokes and gestures to touching and grabbing, according to a study released on Tuesday.

Men are more likely to harass than women, but women and men are equally likely to be harassed on U.S. campuses, according to a report by the American Association of University Women.

Researchers found that 62 percent of college students experienced sexual harassment, and 32 percent of college students said they were victims of physical harassment.

"The primary form of harassment that we're seeing is actually non-contact: it tends to be remarks, gestures and jokes," Elena Silva, the report's co-author, said in a telephone interview. "But the fact that one third of college students are experiencing some form of physical harassment is certainly a concern."

In a representative survey of 2036 undergraduates at U.S. colleges and universities, 41 percent said they had sexually harassed someone.

"In most cases, these students say that they thought it was funny, the other person liked it, or it is 'just a part of school life,'" the report found.

Common types of physical harassment include being touched, grabbed or pinched in a sexual way, or intentionally brushing up against someone in a sexual way, the study found.

Flashes of frontal or rear nudity, calling someone gay, lesbian or a homophobic name or spreading sexual rumors about someone also were reported as sexual harassment in the survey.

"YOU LOSE YOUR CONFIDENCE"

"It messes things up for you," said Heather Pennison, who has encountered sexual harassment throughout her school career and is now a student at Georgia Southern University.

"You lose your confidence, you don't want to go to class, you don't want to go to certain parts of the campus," Pennison said by telephone before the survey was released. "You're not getting the full experience that you should be getting."

Less than 10 percent of all students report sexual harassment to a school employee, the study found. Most student victims say the incident was "not a big deal" even though it made victims feel "helpless" or "horrible."

"We have a real contradiction where students are saying, on the one hand, it's no big deal and didn't report it...but on the other hand, they say, 'Yes, I was upset by it, yes, it made me feel bad about myself,'" Silva said.

The issue of sexual harassment grabbed U.S. headlines in 1991, when Anita Hill leveled accusations against her former boss, Clarence Thomas, who was named to the Supreme Court by President George H.W. Bush, the current president's father.

In televised congressional hearings, Hill alleged Thomas pressured her for dates and frequently talked about pornography and sexual acts. Thomas, who denied Hill's claims, was confirmed by a 52-48 vote in the U.S. Senate.