Department of Defense Sexual Harassment Research: Historical Perspectives and New Initiatives

Abstract

The Defense Manpower Data Center conducted sexual harassment surveys of active-duty military members in both 1988 and 1995. The 1995 survey effort, sponsored by the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, was designed to allow comparisons with the earlier survey as well as incorporate advances in sexual harassment measurement and research methodology. Since the release of the initial survey findings, considerable additional research has been conducted. This article provides historical background information on the Department of Defense (DoD) sexual harassment survey efforts, including recent initiatives to standardize sexual harassment methods across DoD-wide and armed-services-specific surveys. The article also highlights salient findings from the additional research reported in this special issue and identifies fertile areas for future research.