Quid pro quo does not always have a negative connotation. Strictly speaking, a quid pro quo arrangement is just one where something is being exchanged for something else. For example, two businesses could reach an agreement to exchange services at no cost because they both need the services offered by the other business.
When it comes to sexual harassment cases, however, quid pro quo harassment is usually a form of manipulation or coercion. It’s designed to force one person into a sexual relationship with the other, something that wouldn’t ordinarily have occurred.
An example of how this could happen
This can happen in many different ways, but a common example is when an executive at a company is in charge of giving out raises or promotions to the employees below them. The executive may desire to have a sexual relationship with one of these employees, and they will offer them preferential treatment in exchange. If the employee agrees to go along with it, they will be given a raise or a promotion over other candidates.
Additionally, the employee may be afraid that the opposite will happen if they refuse. If they say no to the arrangement, they will be fired or demoted.
This can make these cases complicated because the person who is committing the sexual harassment may claim that they actually are in a consensual relationship. And it is true that the employee may have agreed to the arrangement, but only because they were manipulated. The imbalance of power between the two means that it is not really a fair relationship—and it is not actually consensual.
Employees who find themselves in this position need to understand all of the rights that they have and the steps they can take to put an end to sexual harassment on the job.