Rowe has stated that she believes she was not the first to use the term, since sexual harassment was being discussed in women's groups in Massachusetts in the early 1970s, but that MIT may have been the first or one of the first large organizations to discuss the topic (in the MIT Academic Council), and to develop relevant policies and procedures.
罗曾表示，她相信自己不是第一次用这个词，因为70年代初马萨诸塞州的妇女团体已讨论到性骚扰，但MIT可能是第一个讨论到该话题并制定相关政策和程序的大型组织（麻省理工学院学术委员会）。