Can patients sexually harass their physicians?

It is the fate of certain fashionable legal terms that capture the attention of the media to have their usage expanded beyond the contexts for which they were originally designed. Such is the case with the term sexual harassment. Essentially, it describes situations in which a powerful person attempts to influence an individual's economic or academic status based on his or her response to sexual comments or behaviors. Title VII and Title IX of the US Code contain federal laws that prohibit discrimination based on sex in the workplace and in the education system, respectively. Accordingly, sexual harassment that occurs within the context of the employment or academic arena is prohibited under Title VII and Title IX and has evolved to apply to hostile work or academic environments that do not per se influence an individual's economic or academic status.