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.