Sexual harassment in the workplace, particularly work that involves positions of power, is a current issue in our occidental societies. In October 2017, the New Yorker and the New York Times posted the testimony of several entertainment professional women, accusing the movie producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape. In the days following this public disclosure, about eighty women had supported those accusations by reveling what they have been through or what they have witnessed. This scandal freed speech and other men were denounced for similar actions in entertainment or politic environments. “Is sexual harassment in these worlds about power?” asked the psychiatrists Raj Persaud and Peter Bruggen.
They studied the question in their article “What Is the Link Between Sex and Power in Sexual Harassment?”, published on November the 8th, 2017, in the American magazine Psychology Today. They mostly relied on a research undertaken by Melissa J. Williams, Deborah H. Gruenfeld and Lucia E. Guillory, social psychologists, entitled: “Sexual Aggression When Power Is New: Effects of Acute High Power on Chronically Low-Power Individuals”.
This study put forward the fact that people who have been feeling low-power during a long period develop more tendencies to sexually harass than others, when they access a position of power. Conversely, people who already have experienced a long-term feeling of power in the past demonstrate fewer tendencies to sexually harass. Moreover, it appeared that power affects one’s perception of others’ sexual interest. According to the research, people who just reach a position of power are more likely to think that subordinates are attracted to them, even if there is no sign of such ideas. Powerholders also tend to consider a person as an object rather than an actual human being.
Persaud and Bruggen suggested a link between those beliefs and a “threatened ego”. In this idea, we can see power as narcissistic reassurance, balancing a preexisting psychological insecurity. After a long period feeling powerless, with a low opinion of themselves, people are suddenly given more responsibilities, more authority, more importance; but the authors explained that being in a position of power does not necessarily induce an impression of power. Therefore, they use their newly felt authority and influence to get sexual favors from their subordinates and, doing so, unconsciously attempt to fix their narcissistic issues.
The most peculiar observation described in this research was that, contrary to common beliefs, women are as much corrupted by power as men. When they do not feel powerful over a long period, accessing power causes them more tendencies to sexually harass. Even if there are still more accusations reported against men than women, we can highlight that this is not a problem of sex or gender, but one’s previous experience of power.
To conclude, research must continue about this social issue, so psychologists can understand the potential difficulties experienced by harassers and imagine a new care and prevention system. This should be helpful to prevent inappropriate behaviors and offer self-confidence strategies without using non-consenting people.
Persaud, R. & Bruggen P. (2017). What Is the Link Between Sex and Power in Sexual Harassment. Psychology Today. Retrieved from: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/slightly-blighty/201711/what-is-the-link-between-sex-and-power-in-sexual-harassment
