Is the client always, right? Influence of Sexism and Myths on the Social Perception of Sexual Harassment by Customers

The goal of this paper is to analyze the influence of some factors on the perception of a sexual harassment by customers' situation. Through a scenario design, 169 men and 316 women evaluated fictitious news of a situation of harassment by customers. In Study 1, the victim's attractiveness and his response to harassment were manipulated. The perception of Harassment, Severity, Consequences and Justification were measured as dependent variables. And ASI (Ambivalent Sexism Inventory) and ISHMA (Sexual Harassment Myth Acceptance) were measured as ideological variables. In study 2, the victim's response and the type of employment contract were manipulated. Some results showed that when the victim is presented as Not Attractive (vs. Attractive) and the participants have high HS scores, a greater perception that the harassment is justified. In addition, when the victim confronts the harasser, the participants considered this response as appropriate. The intervention should be aimed at making these myths visible to fight against Sexual Harassment.