As a student filing a sexual harassment complaint against a university professor, it is critically important that you have detailed documentation and supporting evidence. This is true regardless of whether your complaint is filed with the university, the Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Education, or federal/state courts.
 

Unfortunately, if it is your word versus the professor's, you have very little chance of prevailing. Success requires careful record keeping and assembling evidence to confirm your allegations. The better your documentation and the more evidence you have, the greater the likelihood of a successful resolution!
 

We realize that taking the steps to collect evidence against a professor can be time consuming, stressful, and even frightening. However, remember this--he has violated your civil rights. You do not deserve to be treated like this by anyone, much less a university professor whose salary you are helping to pay.
 

Now is the time to be bold, assertive, and self-confident. Build your case and then file your complaint, complete with supporting documentation and evidence! Good luck!
 

Warning: Be sure to keep the original copies of any documentation or evidence you collect for your files and potential use in future lawsuits. You can effectively file formal complaints with the university or OCR by including copies of your original documentation and evidence.
 

Below are specific suggestions about how to document what has happened to you and collect evidence to support your complaint.
 

1.  Incident Form. Keeping a written record of every sexual harassment incident is extremely important. Don't trust your memory, write down a description of the incident as soon as possible.
 
We have provided a sample Sexual Harassment Incident Form (click here) for your use. It allows you to conveniently summarize important facts about the incident, including such things as date, time, place, other individuals present, what the harasser said or did, and how you responded. This type of information serves as excellent documentation when you file a complaint.

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2.  Witnesses. Individuals who were present when you were harassed can be an excellent source of supporting evidence concerning the harassing behaviors, if they are willing to cooperate and provide a signed statement about what happened. Witnesses can also be helpful in documenting your emotional state following the harassment. Their statement can provide invaluable evidence about how upset you were and what actions you took.

Unfortunately, many potential witnesses are often unwilling to get involved or take the risks associated with testifying against a professor. This can be especially discouraging when your classmates and "friends" refuse to cooperate and confirm the accuracy of your allegations.

Thus, don't rely solely on witnesses to support your complaint. They may or may not be willing to cooperate, and can change their mind at any time. Always try to collect other forms of evidence.

3.  Physical Evidence from the Harasser. In some instances, harassers communicate with their victims using written notes or letters, e-mail messages, or phone messages left on answering machines. Be sure to save anything that confirms the harasser's contact and communication with you. Such tangible or physical evidence can be absolutely invaluable in documenting your complaint!

4.  Tape Recording. In the overwhelming majority of all cases, the initial incident of faculty sexual harassment is completely unexpected by the victim, catching her "off-guard" and unprepared to respond. However, if you anticipate that the harassment will continue, and it often does, covertly tape recording future conversations can provide devastating,  indisputable evidence to support your case. Technology exists to reliably match a person's voice with that on a tape.

Taping the harasser in action is the "ultimate" proof of his unlawful behavior. While taping, you can also verbally review earlier harassing incidents and solicit comments or confirmation from the professor to document their occurrence.

Micro cassette recorders and tapes are readily available at any retailer selling electronic equipment. They can be easily concealed in a pocket or purse and can reliably record conversations lasting up to 45 minutes without flipping the tape.

 
Specific retailers, model names and numbers, and prices include:

 
• Walmart. Models from $25.96 to $39.96; suggested best buy--Sony M529V Micro Cassette Recorder for $39.96.

•  Sears. Models from $29.99 to $49.99; suggested best buy--Sony, M529 Micro Cassette Recorder for $39.99.

•  Radio Shack. Models from $29 to $149; suggested best buy--Radio Shack Micro 17, Cat. # 14-1178 for $69.99;   top-of-the-line model--Optimus Micro-33, Cat. #14-1045 for $149.


Quality micro tapes can be purchased at Sears: 4-pack of Panasonic Micro Tapes, 30 minutes per side for $4.99; 4-pack of Sony Micro Tapes, 45 minutes per side for $6.99.

We have found that tape recording perpetrators in action is a particularly effective way of proving your case. Thus, we highly recommend that you consider using this method of collecting evidence.

5.  Phone Recording. Before using this approach to collect evidence, be sure to check with a local attorney to determine if you can legally tape record a telephone conversation in your state, if the other party is unaware that taping is occurring.  Laws differ from one state to the next and it is important to confirm what statutes apply to you.

If taping is legal, recording phone conversations with the harassing professor can provide compelling evidence of his unlawful conduct. You can also use this technology to place a phone call to the professor to review earlier harassing incidents or untaped conversations and solicit his comments as documentation of their existence.

 The equipment needed to tape phone conversations can be purchased from any major electronics retailer. Installation is typically quite simple and straightforward.

Once operational, you can record any incoming or outgoing call. In the absence of highly sophisticated electronic equipment,  the harasser would have no idea that taping was occurring.

Two retailers were located with the necessary equipment:

      Radio Shack
 

• Radio Shack Telephone Cassette Recorder, Cat. #43-473, for $99.99 (a complete  self-contained, easy-to-install system).

• For those who already have a quality tape recorder (it must have both a mike and remote jack), Radio Shack has a Telephone Recording Control unit, Cat. #43-228 for $19.99.

Lifestyle Fascination, Inc.

This firm offers a very convenient way to tape phone conversations. The recording device is built into a handheld phone called "Record a Call Deluxe," which sells for $69.95.

     The company can be reached at:
     1935 Swarthmore Avenue
     P. O. Box 3023
     Lakewood, NJ 08701-8123
     1-800-669-8875
     www.lifestylefascination.com

 6.  Video Recording. If the harassing professor's behaviors can be video taped, this type of evidence can provide indisputable support for your complaint. For example, if a harasser tells you that he will drop by your apartment to discuss your course grade and how to improve it, the opportunity to collect video tape evidence exists.

This can be accomplished in a number of ways. First you could ask a trusted friend to videotape some or all of the  interaction from a hidden position. You could also conceal a VCR in your living room area and turn it on just before the professor arrives.

A third option involves using an innovative product offered for sale by Lifestyle Fascination, Inc. (address given above). It is called the ATN Guardian Eye and consists of a video camera installed within an operational clock radio. Thus, it can be displayed in a prominent position in any room without arousing suspicion that taping is occurring. This product retails for $199.95.

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7.  Graduates and/or Former Students. Faculty harassers are often habitual sexual predators. In other words, they have repeatedly violated student civil rights for years.

To the extent that this is true, there are likely to be many other victims, some of whom may be willing to file a complaint in support of yours. These women could include graduates who have completed their degrees and/or former students who have not yet finished their coursework or dropped out of school.

Locating and contacting women who have had harassing experiences similar to yours can be very challenging. Don't expect any help from the university. In fact, their attitude typically is, "if there was no complaint filed, no civil rights violation occurred, and a silent victim is not a victim." This type of morally bankrupt, self-serving thinking continues in spite of  research evidence indicating that only 2% to 3% of women students who are harassed actually file a formal complaint.

 If your complaint ever goes to court, your attorney may be successful in forcing the university to provide you with the names and addresses of former students who had classes with the harassing professor. This would significantly simplify the task of  identifying and locating them.

Obtaining signed statements from other women who were harassed by the same professor can provide you with powerful evidence to support your complaint. In most instances, you will find that graduates are more willing to come forward because the threat of academic retaliation is not present.

For example, several years ago a woman medical school student filed a formal sexual harassment complaint against an M.D. on the faculty. It was a classic case of "he said, she said" and the university was unwilling to thoroughly investigate the professor's behavior by contacting former students.

Frustrated about the entire situation, the young woman searched for other ways to collect supporting evidence. Since she had heard rumors about this professor for years, she decided to personally write to women graduates of the medical school program to inquire about their interaction with this professor. If they had been harassed, the student asked them to put their experiences in writing and send a letter to the university (with a copy to her).

Six young M.D.s wrote letters detailing the sordid behavior of the professor. In view of this additional evidence, the university finally acted to terminate the professor.

While the harassing faculty member was ultimately removed from his position, the university itself had been unwilling to conduct a thorough, rigorous investigation after receiving the initial complaint. Once again, we see compelling evidence that universities are more interested in protecting professors than student civil rights.

 A Final Note of Encouragement

 Don't allow faculty harassers to violate your civil rights, and at the same time intimidate you from collecting evidence and filing a complaint against them. Stick up for yourself and fight back!