Sexual Harassment

This comprehensive text stands alone in addressing sexual
harassment from a forensic psychiatric perspective. Sexual Harassment:
Psychiatric Assessment in Employment Litigation reviews the law,
social science research, clinical experience, and principles of forensic
evaluation relevant to the highly adversarial legal arena of sexual
harassment litigation. This illuminating guide covers every aspect of
psychiatric assessment in sexual harassment litigation: definition/legal
history, bias/gender, credibility/malingering, "welcomeness,"
"reasonableness," causation, and emotional injury and damages. In an area
where few training or educational opportunities exist, Dr. Gold presents a
structured framework for these evaluations, including case examples that
bring this framework to life.

No single response or specific
psychiatric problem is associated with sexual harassment. Not all
experiences of sexual harassment even constitute illegal employment
discrimination. The term itself covers a wide range of behaviors, from
annoying to traumatic. Likewise, the responses to such events, real or
perceived, are broadly diverse. Further, the difficulties and ambiguities
that arise at the interface of psychiatry, the legal system, and the social
issues raised by sexual harassment make the application of psychiatric
knowledge and expertise in such cases uniquely challenging.

This work
provides invaluable assistance in helping mental health experts meet these
challenges while also serving the legal system's goal of adjudicating
disputes in the interest of serving justice. It emphasizes that experts
should


* Base their evaluations and testimony on a thorough evaluation of the
issues in each case.
* Acquire the intellectual tools needed, including
familiarity with gender issues, the effects of stress and trauma, the scope
and effects of sexual harassment, and an awareness of the potential biases
that may influence opinions.
* Understand the scientific basis of their
testimony.

As the definitive work on the forensic psychiatric aspects
of sexual harassment, this work explores and bridges the interface between
the law, social science, psychiatry, and employment issues. This classic
volume will provide invaluable assistance to psychiatrists and psychologists
in formulating credible, well-reasoned opinions in an evolving and
controversial area of the law. Other mental health professionals and
educators, as well as members of the legal and human resources community,
will also find that this in-depth study increases their understanding and
appreciation of the complexities and challenges of psychiatric evaluations
in sexual harassment litigation.