Title 42 — The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-73

§19191 Findings

Title 42 › Chapter CHAPTER 163— - RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, COMPETITION, AND INNOVATION › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER V— - BROADENING PARTICIPATION IN SCIENCE › Part Part D— - Combating Sexual Harassment in Science › § 19191

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Congress finds that sexual harassment is widespread at colleges and universities, especially in science and engineering. A 2018 National Academies report says gender harassment is the most common kind. It also found 58 percent of people in academic jobs face sexual harassment. Women from racial or ethnic minority groups are more likely to be harassed and to feel unsafe. Training one person to the Ph.D. level in STEM is estimated to cost about $500,000, and losing trained people wastes money and talent. Congress also notes a 2017 University of Illinois study where 18 percent of minority women and 12 percent of White women in astronomy skipped events because they felt unsafe. Reporting rules for sexual harassment differ across federal research agencies and are not always easy to use. Poor communication between agencies and with grant recipients has let people who harassed others get federal funding after moving to a new institution.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §19191

The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Congress makes the following findings:

(1)According to the report issued by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in 2018 entitled “Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine”—

(A)sexual harassment is pervasive in institutions of higher education;

(B)the most common type of sexual harassment is gender harassment;

(C)58 percent of individuals in the academic workplace experience sexual harassment, the second highest rate when compared to the military, the private sector, and Federal, State, and local government;

(D)women who are members of racial or ethnic minority groups are more likely to experience sexual harassment and to feel unsafe at work than White women, White men, or men who are members of such groups;

(E)the training for each individual who has a Doctor of Philosophy in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields is estimated to cost approximately $500,000; and

(F)attrition of an individual so trained results in a loss of talent and money.

(2)According to a 2017 University of Illinois study, among astronomers and planetary scientists, 18 percent of women who are members of racial or ethnic minority groups and 12 percent of White women skipped professional events because they did not feel safe attending.

(3)Reporting procedures with respect to sexual harassment are inconsistent among Federal research agencies and have varying degrees of accessibility.

(4)There is not adequate communication among Federal research agencies and between such agencies and recipients regarding reports of sexual harassment, which has resulted in harassers receiving Federal funding after moving to a different institution.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 19191

Title 42 — The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73