An exploration of student-to-student sexual harassment as sex discrimination in higher education through analysis of appropriate statutes and case law

The purpose of this study was to examine existing sexual harassment statutes to determine if any of them provide a legal remedy to victims of student-to-student sexual harassment in higher education institutions. If current legal statutes were found not to extend such a remedy, a second purpose was to explore the expansion of present legal theories affording protection against sex discrimination of students to include student-to-student sexual harassment, especially through the use of Catharine MacKinnon's theories of dominance, inequality and sexual harassment as a form of sex discrimination.; The legal analysis revealed that the substantive case law concerning Title IX has expanded as knowledge of the sociological ramifications of sexual harassment have surfaced. The law of sexual harassment has been extended to the educational setting including remedies for sexual harassment of students by professors or administrators. It is also clear that sexual harassment by peers in the workplace is remediable. Therefore, a remedy for student-to-student sexual harassment could well be the next step of protection provided by federal law, if the courts wish to take it.; An analysis of numerous cases has shown that some courts have adopted MacKinnon's theories of dominance, inequality and sex discrimination when deciding sexual harassment cases. The theoretical basis for an expansion of Title IX through case law is available to courts who are so inclined to use it through MacKinnon's theories.; It was recommended that further research be conducted including more recent Title IX cases to determine if such an expansion in case law has occurred. It was suggested that additional research be conducted concerning the increasing tension between the civil rights guaranteed under Title IX to be free from sex discrimination and the First Amendment right to free speech.