Filing a sexual harassment complaint

I have decided to file a complaint. My letter will describe the incident and demand that there be sensitivity training prior to the hiring process and, furthermore, if there are complaints made, formal mandatory classes into harassment and gender equity and suspension until they are fully completed.

Now my question to the men out there: I DO realize that these policies arely do exist at many institutions. And many of my own male-friends go through them and, to be be honest, they say they are a bitch to go through and they already know what to do and what not to do. And they do fine when passing through the motions of these "sensitivity trainings". My question is do these work at all? Do you llike..think twice about the words that come out of your mouth? Or do you just go through the motions, pass it, and resume your everyday behaviour.

NOT to say that your everyday behaviour is sexist, etc. But men are socialized to, some degree, to be men- do stereotypical "man" things. Like the commenter said from the last post, when men get together it is a whole other story, but when they are acting alone they rarely act so rudely. And it is true, for the most part in my experience. Men hoot and holler in groups but when they are alone they are quite respectful and politely compliment me.

But group-mentality/ the way you are socialized to behave in society or in front of others... sometimes it is deplorable. and I'm curious- what does it take to get you men, who can admit they can sometimes act shamefully towards the other gender, to stop doing that? Does sensitivity training really work or do we have to re-socialize men altogether?

Off of the UT website (emphasis added)

Harassment is any unwanted physical or verbal conduct that offends or humiliates you. It is a type of discrimination that can take many forms including unwelcome remarks, jokes or written displays about race, religion, disability, age, sexual orientation, as well as threats, intimidation or unwanted physical conduct.

Harassment can come from an advisor, faculty, staff or other students. This conduct can interfere with a student's ability to do research and complete the graduate degree. Harassment by an advisor can be particularly traumatizing for graduate students who are most vulnerable and face a power differential in which they rely solely on one individual for publications, funding, references and their degree.

You are not alone if you are facing this. For confidential action or support, please contact the GSU's Resource Co-ordinator, Rose Da Costa at rose.dacosta@utoronto.ca / 978-2391 or GSU Fieldworker, Charlotte Reeve at charlotte.reeve@utoronto.ca / 978-8464.

And by the way, cat calling and all the rest of it- it IS emotionally distressing. Dont' think that it doesn't affect us. When I have to runthrough the city with worry in my head, ensuring that I don't pass by a group of men, or feel my heart race whenever I anticipate a comment being made it has an effect on my day. I have to take taht extra moment to ignore it, forget about it before I get to my work. Men don't have to worry about that. You dont' know what a privilege it is to walk down the street without worry, no matter what tiem of day or who is around until you don't have it. RECOMMEND this Post on Progressive Bloggers CLICK HERE!