ABSTRACT

Although sexual harassment is a widely discussed and examined topic in today's public arena, there are less than 10 citations about this subject written by chiropractors directed to the chiropractic profession in the peer-reviewed literature. The purposes of this review are to provide a brief history of the development of sexual harassment law, define and describe sexual harassment according to the law, educate chiropractic practitioners and educators about the legal obligations for employers and the penalties for violations, and provide a suggested prevention paradigm against harassment. Several general and health science databases were searched for citations on the subject of sexual harassment. Search terms included sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, professional-patient relationship, doctor-patient relationship, professional boundaries, and multiple combinations of these terms and phrases using Boolean operators. This review explores sexual harassment from its legal historical development to a “virtues-based” prevention paradigm. Much of the research performed on sexual harassment is consistent and has been duplicated. Men are usually the perpetrators of sexual harassment and women are usually the victims. Sexual harassment in the health science practice and educational settings is prevalent. It is unknown to what extent sexual harassment exists in chiropractic offices and on chiropractic college campuses. There is a need for research on this topic within chiropractic. Chiropractors are positioned either to perpetuate sexual harassment or be change agents in reducing its prevalence in their surroundings. It is reasonable to believe if chiropractors behave according to the premium they place on human health and dignity, sexual harassment could fade away in their spheres of influence.