<p>Bringing up a fruit bat's oral sex habits with a colleague you don't know very well may not be the best idea--but according to an Irish court, it doesn't quite merit the extreme sanctions associated with more flagrant sexual harassment. Back in May, Discoblog <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2010/05/17/a-scientist-finds-out-that-discussion-of-bat-fellatio-is-nsfw/" title="">brought you news</a> that a biology professor in Ireland was being charged with harassment by a female colleague after he read from and discussed a racy new paper about <a href="/planet-earth/holy-fellatio-batman-fruit-bats-use-oral-sex-to-prolong-actual-sex" title="">fruit bat fellatio</a>. The biologist, Dale Evans, was ordered to attend two years of counseling to correct his attitudes and behavior, and was told that he would be monitored for those two years. But Evans claimed that he'd simply thought the paper was hilarious, had shown it to numerous people that day, and had zero intention of causing offense to his colleague, Rossana Salerno Kennedy. Now <a href="http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2010/12/biologist-prevails-in-case-of.html?rss=1" title="">ScienceInsider</a> gives us the update: </p><div class="vert-display-toggle collapsible relative flex flex-col items-center "><div class="vert-unit mt-4 mb-3 top-20"><div ad-type="mobile-desktop" class="ad-wrapper vert min-h-boombox flex items-start justify-center" data-ad-mapping="inline" data-ad-slot="Discover/inline-ad" id="div-inline-ad-0"></div></div><span aria-label="Advertisement" class="text-ad mt-1 text-[11px] uppercase">Advertisement</span></div><p>Evans challenged the ruling, and a judge has now <a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/1201/breaking66.html" title="">ruled in favor</a> of him, which means that he won't have to do the counseling. The university's sanctions on him were "grossly disproportionate," the judge said. "I won my battle," Evans tells <em>Science</em>Insider.</p><p> The High Court judge said that Evans should have received a verbal warning rather than the counseling and monitoring. Evans wasn't vindicated completely, though. As the <a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/1201/breaking66.html" title="">Irish Times reports</a></p><div data-embedid="dcfb67aa-fdf4-4a19-b4c7-75c497a8de9c" id="insticator-embed-temp"></div><p>: </p><p>The judge refused to grant orders overturning findings of an external investigation that, while Dr Evans had no intention to offend in showing the paper to his colleague, the incident fell within the definition of sexual harassment under UCC’s “Duty of Respect and Right to Dignity” policy.</p><p> Related Content: Discoblog: <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2010/10/01/ig-noble-awards-honor-pioneering-work-on-bat-fellatio-whale-snot-more/" title="">Ig Nobel Awards Honor Pioneering Work on Bat Fellatio, Whale Snot, &amp; More</a></p><p> Discoblog: <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2010/05/17/a-scientist-finds-out-that-discussion-of-bat-fellatio-is-nsfw/" title="">A Scientist Finds out That Discussion of Bat Fellatio Is NSFW</a></p><p> Not Exactly Rocket Science: <a href="/planet-earth/holy-fellatio-batman-fruit-bats-use-oral-sex-to-prolong-actual-sex" title="">Holy Fellatio, Batman! Fruit Bats Use Oral Sex to Prolong Actual Sex</a></p>

fruit-bat.jpg

An Irish court ruling reveals that discussing fruit bat fellatio doesn't justify harsh sexual harassment sanctions. Learn more!

Planet Earth

Update: Is Discussing Bat Fellatio With Colleagues Sexual Harassment? 

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Eliza Strickland

Science

Bringing up a fruit bat's oral sex habits with a colleague you don't know very well may not be the best idea--but according to an Irish court, it doesn't quite merit the extreme sanctions associated with more flagrant sexual harassment. Back in May, Discoblog brought you news that a biology professor in Ireland was being charged with harassment by a female colleague after he read from and discussed a racy new paper about fruit bat fellatio. The biologist, Dale Evans, was ordered to attend two years of counseling to correct his attitudes and behavior, and was told that he would be monitored for those two years. But Evans claimed that he'd simply thought the paper was hilarious, had shown it to numerous people that day, and had zero intention of causing offense to his colleague, Rossana Salerno Kennedy. Now ScienceInsider gives us the update: Evans challenged the ruling, and a judge has now ruled in favor of him, which means that he won't have to do the counseling. The university's sanctions on him were "grossly disproportionate," the judge said. "I won my battle," Evans tells ScienceInsider. The High Court judge said that Evans should have received a verbal warning rather than the counseling and monitoring. Evans wasn't vindicated completely, though. As the Irish Times reports : The judge refused to grant orders overturning findings of an external investigation that, while Dr Evans had no intention to offend in showing the paper to his colleague, the incident fell within the definition of sexual harassment under UCC’s “Duty of Respect and Right to Dignity” policy. Related Content: Discoblog: Ig Nobel Awards Honor Pioneering Work on Bat Fellatio, Whale Snot, & More Discoblog: A Scientist Finds out That Discussion of Bat Fellatio Is NSFW Not Exactly Rocket Science: Holy Fellatio, Batman! Fruit Bats Use Oral Sex to Prolong Actual Sex

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更新：与同事讨论蝙蝠口交是否构成性骚扰？

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