Targeting Attitudes to Combat Sexual Harassment: A Randomized Intervention in the Norwegian Military

Olle Folke, Hanson, Torbjørn, Johnsen, Åshild, Andreas Kotsadam and Johanna Rickne

No 21475, CEPR Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Policy Research

Abstract: We develop an information-based intervention against sexual harassment and test it in a randomized control trial across small groups of military recruits in the boot camp of the Norwegian military. The intervention seeks to bridge two knowledge gaps with implications for sexual harassment prevalence. We tell some recruits about their peers’ beliefs that “telling sexualized jokes can be labeled sexual harassment†and about women soldiers’ equal performance on military skill tests. This treatment gives lasting improvements in knowledge about what sexual harassment is and about women’s job performance. The impact on sexual harassment prevalence is directionally negative but statistically insignificant. We discuss measurement error and use survey responses about a harassment scenario to argue that the intervention likely affected behavior. Our study provides the first field experiment to evaluate whether a prevention method against sexual harassment reduces prevalence in a work setting. We use insights from our research process to identify methodological pitfalls and provide guidance for future field experiments in this area.

Keywords: Sexual harassment; Randomized controlled trial; Information provision experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 M54 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-05
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