Two years ago, the APA established a new appointment in the form of the Ombudsperson for Nondiscrimination. Laurie Schrage is the first to hold this role, and if you ask her how many members of the APA have come to her with their concerns or their specific complaints, she will tell you the number is nigh zero. This was a somewhat unwelcome surprise to those of us who hear from women experiencing discrimination who ask, “Who can I talk to about my concerns?” Is it possible that members of the APA don’t know there’s an Ombudsperson? Yes! So let’s change that state of affairs. Feel free to link to this photo. Laurie has a job description and everything.
Feminist Philosophers 
ProfbigK: Do you think it’s possible that those in trouble decide finally that a complaint in a formal context might be too risky?
I wonder if it might be worth assuring women of confidentiality, and so on. In fact, can confidentiality be assured? Is it possible that if someone is acting in an official capacity for the APA (or a committee thereof) that they are obliged to report any criminal behavior they hear about? One could imagine a very nasty lawsuit down the road if the APA was informed about severe sexual harassment and did nothing.
I assume the APA looked into the question of their own legal liability, but it seems worth asking.
You bet, jj, it’s certainly possible that one seeks help from those one assumes are not obligated to pass along the information. As professors, we experience this all the time from our own students, don’t we? (“Don’t tell anyone, but…” Poor kids!)
However, since it’s also highly likely that some of the genuinely stressed women who contact us don’t know about the ombudsperson’s existence, said existence is worth promoting.
The confidentiality question is a good one, but of course, that’s precisely the sort of resource-question that the ombuds herself is best placed to answer!
profbigk, thanks!