Factitious Sexual Harassment

Abstract

Among those claims that trivialize true sexual harassment is a type that the author has come to recognize as factitious (i.e., prompted by the lure of victim status). Women who file factitious sexual harassment cases usually voice their allegations in a very convincing manner and, in the presence of contradictory findings, present a diagnostic challenge. Forensic clinicians must be able to recognize factitious sexual harassment in order to bring objectivity to these complex cases.