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A new study of self-described "active Christian women" shows more than a quarter personally experienced sexually inappropriate behavior, and one fourth of those that experienced it said it happened in a church or ministry setting. The survey, based on answers given last fall by 779 American women to NationalChristianPoll.com, was designed to capture the range and extent to which women encounter unwelcome, gender-based behaviors by their male counterparts, either in the workplace or within a church or ministry setting. Commonly reported inappropriate behaviors include sexual advances, touching or sexual contact, suggestive jokes, glances with sexual overtones, and demeaning comments.

While some may take suggestive jokes or demeaning comments to a coworker or ministry colleague lightly, this kind of behavior can create a stressful environment. Joy Thornburg Melton, an ordained minister and attorney who currently serves in the United Methodist Church as chief resource officer for PACT (United Methodist Property and Casualty Trust), says these survey results are "interesting, but not surprising." Based on the anecdotal reports she receives from individual women in a wide variety of ministry settings, she says, "There is a lot of inappropriate 'conversation' being tolerated by women so as not to antagonize men in their workplaces."

Not all incidents reported in the survey fall under the strict legal definition of sexual harassment. According to Frank Sommerville, an attorney and CPA who specializes in church law and tax, the simple legal definition of sexual harassment is "unwelcome attention due to one's gender. Closely related to this is the term 'hostile work environment,' which occurs when unwelcome comments or conduct based on sex, race, or other legally protected characteristics unreasonably interferes with an employee's work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment."

The survey shows a relatively low number of occurrences of sexual harassment in churches or ministry workplaces. Only two percent of respondents who work in a church or ministry setting say their employment was contingent upon dates or sexual favors. This number goes up sharply in the secular world: 22 percent of women reported "quid pro quo" harassment.

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While the courts recognize both "quid pro quo" and "hostile environment" as two forms of sexual harassment, Sommerville says a church employer can prevent both types of problems by adopting—and following—a written policy. Larger churches, he admits, are better prepared than smaller churches. "The federal law regarding sexual harassment only applies to employers with 15 or more employees. As a result, churches are often unprepared to comply with this law once they hire their 15th employee."

Only half of the survey respondents said their employers (either in the secular world or in churches and ministries) have established sexual harassment prevention and response policies. This means many churches may be vulnerable to a claim of sexual harassment.

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