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Changing Culture and Climate to Prevent Sexual Harassment in the Physics Educational Setting

The issue of sexual harassment in science is gaining much needed attention. In physics, a 2019 survey study found that 68% of female undergraduate respondents experienced sexual or sexist harassment in a physics environment. In 2018, the National Academy of Science released a report to address the prevalence of sexual harassment in sciences, engineering, and medicine. The report notes anyone can experience sexual harassment, but some demographics (e.g., women; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer [LGBTQ+)] individuals) may have higher rates, including those with multiple minoritized identities. While there are many important aspects to address regarding sexual harassment, in this article we focus on the third recommendation in the National Academies’ report: “Move beyond legal compliance to address culture and climate.” In the sections below, we discuss some of the limitations of policy and provide suggestions for how to create a culture and climate in the physics classroom and around the department that can work to prevent sexual harassment. We draw from research on sexual harassment from a variety of contexts, including outside of academia and STEM, as there are likely commonalities in experiences regardless of context.