Sexual harassment in CEDA debate.

• Author: Stepp, Pamela
• Position: Cross Examination Debate Association - Sexual Harassment in Intercollegiate Debate

At the 1992 SCA Convention in Chicago, CEDA (Cross Examination Debate Association) President, Brenda Logue, reported to the CEDA Commission on Women and Minorities her astonishment at the results of a survey conducted by Cynthia A. Szwapa concerning sexual harassment at an NDT (National Debate Topic) tournament. The commission, working to increase the participation of women in CEDA debate, agreed to investigate sexual harassment in the CEDA community.

This essay reports the preliminary findings of surveys conducted at the Great Salt Lake Tournament at the University of Utah in January 1993 and the Saint Louis Invitational at Saint Louis University in February 1993. The analysis describes percentage responses to questions on the Sexual Experiences Questionnaire (Fitzgerald and Shullman).

METHOD

Sample

The University of Utah sample included 214 respondents; 121 male debaters, 34 male coaches, 47 female debaters, and 12 female coaches. The Saint Louis University sample included 39 male debaters, 19 male coaches, 38 female debaters, and 5 female coaches, totalling 101 respondents. Another sample of 49 respondents was gathered at the CEDA National Tournament. This final sample was not included in this research because it represented only eight percent of the competitors and coaches in attendance. The Utah and Saint Louis Samples, on the other hand, represented nearly 90% of all competitors and coaches present.

Procedure

Tournament directors granted the CEDA Commission on Women and Minorities permission to administer the questionnaire. Surveys and envelopes were packaged with ballots during one of the debates. Judges distributed a survey, an envelope, and a letter explaining the survey to each competitor at the tournament. After respondents completed the survey and sealed it in an envelope, they returned it to the judge or put it in a survey response box at the ballot table. Although participation was voluntary; the majority of competitors and judges completed the survey.

Instrument

The survey included open- and closed-ended questions. The closed-ended questions were 11 items based on the Sexual Experiences Questionnaire (SEQ) developed by Fitzgerald and Schullman. Five levels of sexual harassment were assessed. These levels include: (1) gender harassment-generalized sexist remarks and behavior, (2) seductive behavior inappropriate and offensive, but essentially sanction-free, sexual advances, (3) sexual bribery-solicitation of sexual activity or other sex- linked behavior by promise or rewards, (4) sexual coercion--coercion of sexual activity by threat of punishment, and (5)...