9781422276099

Chapter 1

Sexual Misconduct: Definitions

Sexual misconduct is a catch-all term referring to a variety of behaviors that range from socially unacceptable to outright criminal. Some forms of sexual misconduct are clearly and obviously against the law. Others, though not strictly illegal, are still considered out of bounds by reasonable people. But sometimes it can be a challenge to determine what the boundaries are — in other words, what is “reasonable” to one person may not be “reasonable” to someone else. In 1964 the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling on the subject of pornography. Justice Potter Stewart wrote that while pornography is not always easy to define, “I know it when I see it.” Unfortunately, while a lot of sexual misconduct is clear-cut, there are also gray areas that fall into that “know-it-when-I- see-it” category. In this chapter, we’ll look at the wide range of behaviors that fall under the “misconduct” umbrella, and we’ll grapple with what the various terms precisely mean.

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