When sexual harassment hits home.

Sexual harassment cases illustrate the problems facing employees, including nurses' abusive experiences with both physicians and patients. Learn how to give employees the support they need and lower your liability.     

Bullying and sexual harassment in the school setting.

This article defines bullying and sexual harassment, identifies associated characteristics of the aggressor and the victim, and describes implications for school nurses. The background of federal laws with a focus on the most current 1999 Supreme Court decision, holding a school district liable for damages under federal law (Title IX), is addressed with a case study. Health promotion issues and prevention concepts are outlined in a 10-Point Action Plan to facilitate the prevention and management of bullying and sexual harassment in schools. A survey tool to assess bullying and teaching plans for parents of victims and aggressors are provided. Suggested linkages among approved nursing languages, North American Nursing Diagnosis Association (NANDA) nursing diagnoses (NANDA, 1998), Nursing Interventions Classification interventions (Iowa Intervention Project, 2000), and Nursing Outcomes Classification outcomes (Iowa Outcomes Project, 2000) are included for use in developing nursing care plans for both aggressors and victims of harassment.     

Concept analysis: sexual decision-making in adolescence

PURPOSE: This papers aims to clarify and explore the topic of adolescent decision-making regarding sexual activity. SOURCES: Published literature. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescent decision-making regarding the initiation or continuation of sexual activity is influenced by desire for intimacy, perceived relationship safety, problem-solving ability, cognitive ability, family and peer relationships, and concern regarding pregnancy or sexually transmitted infection.     

Life styles in adolescence: sexual behavior of Portuguese adolescents

Recent studies have shown that adolescents have initiated their sex lives earlier and earlier, without, however, receiving consistent sex education. The objectives of this study were to analyze the sexual behavior of adolescent high school students and identify the habits of sexual health in sexually active adolescent high school students. An exploratory study was conducted with 680 adolescents, whose age ranged between 15 and 19 years. Results showed that most participants had not initiated their sex life; boys are those who most report having had sexual relations; not all the interviewed adolescents used condoms during sex; most adolescents do not practice sexual health surveillance. It is important for sexually active adolescents to receive health care and counseling. Health institutions and their workers must be proactive in trying to approach adolescents.     

The contextual issues associated with sexual harassment experiences reported by registered nurses.

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to explore contextual conditions in Australian health care workplaces that make sex-based and sexual harassment (SB&SH) a relatively common experience for registered nurses (RNs). DESIGN: Unstructured, in-depth interviews with a convenience sample of Australian RNs. PARTICIPANTS: The informants were 16 RNs (15 female and one male), working in health care, who were students enrolled in advanced tertiary preparation in nursing, counselling, and health care management at an Australian university. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Experiences described by the interview informants identified four conditions present in their workplace when they experienced SB&SH. RESULTS: Informants noted: 1) the silence that surrounds harassment; 2) that they could not expect support from their peers and professional colleagues; 3) that education did not exist in their workplaces regarding (SB&SH) and, 4) that traditional stereotypes associated with RNs were closely linked to the experience of harassment in the workplace. CONCLUSIONS: Inadequate coverage of workplace issues related to (SB&SH) in undergraduate or postgraduate educational programs were identified.     

Sexual harassment in healthcare: classification of harassers and rationalizations of sex-based harassment behavior.

This study identified how 16 Australian registered nurses classified sex-based harassers and explained their own behavior and the behavior of the harasser. A qualitative research design, relying on in-depth interviews, was used to collect the data. The study found that harassment is linked to gender roles and that the harassed are reluctant to blame the harasser--the harassed had "sound" rationalizations for harassment. Awareness of the interactional dynamics of self-blame and these rationalizations will help nurse executives ensure a harassment-free workplace.     

Children as sexual objects: Historical and gender trends in magazines

Trained observers blind to exerimental hypotheses rated how often children were depicted sexually in five magazines. Results indicated that children were portrayed sexually in approximately 1.5% of the advertisements containing children. The occurrence of the sexualized depictions of children was systematic in three ways: (1) girls were depicted sexually more often than boys; (2) there was some evidence that this phenomenon has not decreased over the past four decades but, instead, might be increasing slightly; and (3) these depictions occurred more frequently in magazines targeted toward women than toward men or toward both genders. Research on the possible effects on both men and women of the sexualized depictions of children is needed.     

实习女护生在岗遭性骚扰现状调查分析

目的了解女护生临床实习期间在岗时遭性骚扰的现状,探讨防范对策。方法采用自行设计问卷对136名实习女护生进行问卷调查。结果有65名女护生表示临床实习期间在岗时曾遭到各种形式的性骚扰,不同学历女护生遭性骚扰情况差异无统计学意义（P＞0.05）;骚扰者主要是年青的异性病人;50.8%遭性骚扰女护生选择未理睬的应对方式,但又感到非常气愤或生气;92.3%女护生遭性骚扰时带教老师不在身旁;69.2%女护生称遭性骚扰后工作情绪受到影响。结论女护生实习期间在岗时遭性骚扰的现状,应引起学校和实习医院的重视,采取可行的防范对策,帮助女护生更好地完成临床实习任务。     

A pilot study of the prevalence and psychological sequelae of sexual harassment of nursing staff

Summary

• ? A pilot study of nurses and nursing auxiliaries was carried out to determine the prevalence and psychological sequelae of sexual harassment.
• ? Thirteen nurses and 22 nursing auxiliaries were interviewed.
• ? Sixty per cent reported having experienced sexual harassment on at least one occasion.
• ? The results showed that the predominant experience typically occurred:

• – to female nursing staff;
• – by male patients;
• – on the wards;
• – often while washing patients.

• ? There was minimal reporting of the incident.
• ? The overriding emotion felt was embarrassment which was perceived as resulting in impaired work performance.