Preventing Responding to Harassment and Mistreatment in the

Preventing & Responding to Harassment and Mistreatment in the Medical School Lawrencina Mason Oramalu Associate to the Director Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action September 22, 2009

Agenda • EOAA Overview • Nurturing the H. E. A. L. T. H. of the Medical School • Mistreatment and Harassment • It’s All About R. E. S. P. E. C. T. • Resources

Medical School Mission & Values • Mission – Committed to innovation and diversity – Educates physicians, scientists, and health professionals – Generates knowledge and treatments – Cares for patients and communities with compassion and respect. • Values: – – Excellence Inclusiveness Collaboration Discovery

Fulfilling the Medical School Mission by Focusing on H. E. A. L. T. H. • Humanity • Excellence • Acceptance • Leadership • Temperament • Honesty

Who Gets Harassed Most Often • Students and other persons in menial or low-level jobs • Females in non-traditional fields • Women in graduate school • Women and girls of color • Young, inexperienced, unassertive, socially isolated individuals • Lesbian and gay persons • Persons with disabilities, physical or emotional • Undergraduate assistants or young female teachers at the college or high school level

Who is Most Likely to Be Harassed • 62% of female college students and 61% of male college students report having been sexually harassed at their university. • 66% of college students know someone personally who was harassed. • 10% or less of sexual harassment victims attempt to report their experiences to a university employee. • 35% or more of college students who experience sexual harassment do not tell anyone about their experience. Source: AAUW Educational Foundation’s Drawing the Line report

Who is Most Likely to File a Sexual Harassment Complaint in the EOAA Office? Source: 2006 -2008 EOAA Office Statistics

Who is the EOAA Complaint Likely to Be Filed Against? Source: 2006 -2008 EOAA Office Statistics

Medical School Complaints (2005 – 2009) Sexual Harassment Race/Color National Origin Nepotism Religion/Creed Gender Sexual Orientation Other Age Disability Retaliation Unknown Marital Status 18 13 11 6 6 4 4 4 2 2 1 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

What is Sexual Harassment? • Sexual harassment is unwanted or gender based behavior that occurs when one person has formal or informal power over the other.

What is Sexual Harassment? Quid Pro Quo Hostile Environment • Something tangible given or withheld • Atmosphere that interferes with work or school • One instance is enough • Repeated behavior • Liable if employee subjected to change in status • Strong preventive measures and clear and effective complaint process can be a defense • Liable for student harassment – knowledge, failure to respond & indifference • Monetary damages available

Belittlement and Harassment Among Medical Students

Where Should People File Complaints? Ethics. Point Reporting: To access by phone call toll-free 1 -866 -294 -8680 To access by Web go to www. ureport. ethicspoint. com See Handout

Where Should People Report Complaints in the Medical School? • Graduate Advisor • Course Director • Mary Tate, Director of Minority Affairs and Diversity • Dr. Ted Thompson, Director of Clinical Education • Dr. Kathleen Watson, Associate Dean of Students & Student Learning

Why Don’t People Report Harassment? • Embarrassment • Belief that the behavior will end if ignored • Fear of losing one’s job or status • Fear of retaliation • Fear of being blamed for inviting the harassment • Concern about not being believed

Why Don’t People Don’t Report Harassment? (2) • Concern about being labeled a troublemaker • Fear of harmful rumors and loss of privacy • Conviction that nothing will be done about the problem • Fear that the complaint process could be worse than the harassment

Why Should the Medical School Address Harassment and Mistreatment? • Lower productivity • Lower efficiency • Increased absenteeism and turnover • Court awards, settlements and fees • Damage to an institution’s public image • Deterioration of morale • Damage to both alleged victim and perpetrator

Preventing & Responding to Harassment: It’s All About R. E. S. P. E. C. T R RESPOND E ENCOURAGE S SUPPORT P PROTECT E EDUCATE C COMMUNICATE T TAKE

Take Action • Provide complainants with techniques to handle the harassment on their own. Ex. Letter to Harasser • Address inappropriate behavior when you see or hear it • Initiate activities to increase everyone’s awareness. • Have a person of weight and authority speak to the offender.

Letter to Harasser • Provide a factual account of what happened • Describe how the incident(s) made you feel. • Explain what you want to happen next. • Deliver the letter in person or mail it. • Keep a copy

Example of Letter to Harasser (See Handout X) Dear Dr. /Ms. xxx: Six days ago, you commented on my arms and shoulders, told me I would probably look “dazzling” and “extremely inviting”…. I told you I was not interested in a social relationship and that I would prefer that you not comment about my body and clothing. This morning, you brushed up against me as we passed in the hallway … Your persistent comments on my clothing and requests to meet socially are upsetting to me and, as I have made clear, are unwelcome. … If you are unwilling to comply with my request to conduct yourself more acceptably in the workplace, I will ask our HR/EOAA Office to investigate.

Resource Materials (1) • Experiences of Belittlement and Harassment and Their Correlates Among Medical Students in the United States • Medical Student Abuse: A Student’s Perspective • Mistreatment of Trainees: Verbal Abuse and Other Bullying Behaviors • Reporting Compliance Concerns/Flowchart

Resource Materials (2) • Sexual Harassment in Medical Education: Liability and Protection • UMN Medical School Mistreatment Policy • When Bad Things Happen in the Learning Environment • You Learn Better Under the Gun: Intimidation and Harassment in Surgical Education

Thank You Office of Equal Opportunity & Affirmative Action 274 Mc. Namara Center 200 Oak Street SE Minneapolis, MN 612 -624 -9547 http: //www. eoaa. umn. edu/