by Elizabeth Larson

About the author: Elizabeth Larson writes on business issues for various magazines, including Investor's Business Daily and American Enterprise.

Sexual harassment is “subtle rape,” or so says psychologist John Gottman. Judging from the millions of dollars U.S. companies are being forced to spend to combat sexual harassment, American men have apparently become subtle rapists and sexual predators on a scale unimaginable even to the most vocal feminists of a decade or two ago.

A New Industry

Sexual harassment lawsuits such as the ones brought about by the Del Laboratories secretaries and employees of Mitsubishi make headlines nationwide, but too many companies and organizations still think “that can’t happen to us.” But it can—and an entire industry has sprung up since the early...