UMass Lowell Expert on Sexual Harassment, Gender Issues is Available for Interviews
09/19/2018
Contact: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
When law professor Anita Hill came forward in 1991 to accuse then Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of on-the-job sexual harassment, the nation watched, riveted to confirmation hearings where Hill told her side of the story. Despite her testimony, Thomas was appointed Supreme Court justice.
More than 25 years later, Christine Blasey Ford has come forward with allegations of sexual assault against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
In the generation between Hill and Blasey, not much has changed for women who come forward to report sexual harassment and assaults, according to Meg Bond, an expert on gender dynamics in the workplace and the issues at the core of the #MeToo movement, who can offer her analysis on why women are reluctant to come forward, the factors they weigh before going public and what happens when they do.
“The vast majority of women who experience sexual assault or harassment never report to an authority. Dr. Ford has nothing to gain from coming forward and a lot to lose as people nationwide are attacking her credibility. This is a scenario that has been repeated across many parallel incidents,” Bond said.
Bond believes both a sense of ill-placed shame and the risks of being blamed could easily have kept Blasey from speaking out sooner – as is the case for countless other women. “I also think it’s interesting that she seemed so aware of the risks that she took some cautionary steps before going public,” Bond said.
Bond, a UMass Lowell psychology professor, directs the university’s Center for Women and Work, which examines obstacles faced by women and seeks remedies to gender-based inequality, particularly in the workplace.
To interview Bond, contact Nancy Cicco at 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, at 978-934-2209, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu.