- Know your rights. Sexual harassment is illegal in many instances. Your college or university may also have specific policies prohibiting faculty and staff from sexually harassing students and employees.

FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF WITH THESE POLICIES (SEE RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF COMMUNITY: A CODE OF STUDENT CONDUCT).

- Speak up at the time. Be sure to say "NO!" clearly, firmly and without smiling. This is not a time to be polite or vague. (For example, you could say "I don't like what you are doing," or "Please stop - you are making me very uncomfortable.") There is a chance - albeit small - that the harasser did not realize that his behavior was offensive to you.

Additionally, if you decide to file charges at a later date, it is sometimes helpful, but not essential, to have objected to the behavior.

- Keep records, such as a journal and any letters or notes received. Note the dates, places, times, witnesses and the nature of the harassment (what he said and did and how you responded).

- Tell someone, such as fellow students or co-workers. Find out if others have been harassed by the same person and if they will support you should you decide to take action. Sharing your concern helps to avoid isolation and the tendency to blame yourself. Sexual harassment incidents are usually not isolated; most sexual harassers have typically harassed several or many people.

- Identify an advocate, perhaps a counselor, who can give you emotional support as well as help and information about both informal and formal institutional procedures.

- Write a letter. Many people have successfully stopped sexual harassment by writing a special kind of letter to the harasser. This letter should be polite, low-key and detailed, and consists of three parts:

- Part I is a factual account of what has happened, without any evaluation, as seen by the writer. It should be as detailed as possible with dates, places and description of the incident(s). (For example, "Last week at the department party you asked me to go to bed with you," or "On Oct. 21, when I came to you for advice on my test, you patted my knee and tried to touch my breast.")

- Part II describes how the writer feels about the events described in Part I, such as misery, dismay, distrust, and revulsion. (For example, "My stomach turns to knots when I come to class," or "I'm disgusted when I look at you.")

- Part III consists of what the writer wants to happen next. This part may be very short, since most writers usually just want the behavior to stop. (For example, "I don't ever want you to touch me again or to make remarks about my sexuality," or "Please withdraw my last evaluation until we can work out a fair one.")

The letter should be delivered either in person or by registered or certified mail. Copies are not sent to campus officers or the press. The writer should keep at least one copy of the letter. (In the unlikely event that it fails to achieve its purpose, the letter can later be used to document retaliation or in support of a formal complaint or lawsuit.)

In most cases, the harasser is often astonished that his behavior is viewed in the way the writer sees it. He may also be fearful of a formal charge, and worry about who else has seen the letter. The letter also seems to be far more powerful than a verbal request - even those who may have ignored verbal requests to stop, often respond differently when the request is put into writing. The recipient of the letter rarely writes back; usually he just stops the sexual harassment immediately, and typically does not harass anyone else either.

Occasionally the harasser may want to apologize or discuss the situation. You don't need to discuss it if you don't want to - you can simply reiterate that you want the behavior to stop and it's not necessary to discuss it.

There are many advantages to writing a letter. - it helps the victim regain a sense of being in control of the situation; - it often avoids formal charges and public confrontation; - it keeps the incident(s) confidential; - it provides the harasser with a new perspective on his behavior; - it may minimize or prevent retaliation against the writer; - it is not necessary to address questions such as legality, confidentiality, evidence and due process, and - it usually works.

Other Strategies

- Report the behavior on the course evaluation form. This will alert other members of the campus community such as the chair of the harasser's department, but may not necessarily lead to action.

- Take assertiveness training. These classes can teach you a wide range of behaviors in dealing with uncomfortable situation, such as sexual harassment.

- Take a self-defense course. These courses not only teach you a variety of ways to defend yourself physically, they also tend to increase participants' self-confidence and self-esteem.