Sexual Harassment on Chat Reference: Prevalence, Impact, and the Role of Organizations

Abstract

Over 100 chat providers in academic libraries were surveyed in a premier study measuring experiences of sexual harassment among library workers providing online chat reference. The anonymous survey measured the prevalence and frequency of 11 sexual harassment behaviors across three sexual harassment dimensions: gender harassment, unwanted sexual attention, and sexual coercion. The study also examined chat providers’ responses to harassment, the impact of harassment, and the role their organizations played in how they responded. Of our 119 respondents, 61.3% experienced at least one sexual harassment behavior on chat reference within the last 5 years. Responses to harassment were influenced by the existence of organizational policies on how to handle harassment and whether organizations were having open discussions about harassment on chat.