Sexual Harassment in schools

By Julissa R

Sexual harassment is an form of unwelcomed sexual behavior, that is offensive, humilating, or imtimading. It can be verbal or physical, it can happen in person or online. Regardless of gender, sexual harassment can happen to anyone.

Sexual harassment includes some of the following of: touching, grabbing, or making other physcial unwanted contact with you, making unwanted comments, insulting you with sexual comments, or indecently exposing themselves to you.

It can happen to anyone, anywhere, in any environment, environments like work or school.

A study from AAUW’s Crossing The Line report has shown that nearly half of all students from grades 7 to 12 have experienced some sort of sexual harassment. This affects students in many ways. Another study from life satisfaction has shown that exposure to sexual harassment is associated with higher levels of psychological problems among adolescents.

Inspectors visited 32 state and private schools, and colleges. They spoke to around 900 students. They found out that 9 out of every 10 girls experienced sexist name calling and being sent unwanted pictures and videos. Students who were exposed to sexual jokes were less likely to report it. After damming an explanation, it was found that sexual harassment had become so common and normalized that students no longer saw a point in reporting it.

Though sexual harassment is a very serious topic, Amanda Spielman added that teachers and leaders that she spoke to, often underestimated the scale of the problem. Sometimes they didn’t see it as a problem, but more often they were simply not aware. In other schools, sexual harassment has been reported to be viewed as “problematic,” not by those who have experienced sexual harassment, but by those who haven’t.

Sources:@Sexharrassment on twitter

High school students from around the United States have been trying to bring awareness to this problem. They have walked out of their class in protest. In Snohomish High School, dozens of students have walked out in protest. The students are very frustrated by school officials’ lack of response to sexist comments and sexual harassment.

The awareness has caused schools to make changes and bring better environments for students to feel comfortable and be able to feel as they have a voice. Jennifer Pastran, a social worker at Yerba Buena High School, has mentioned that she and schools try to do everything they can to make students feel comfortable. Ms Pastran has also mentioned that there are consequences for sexual harassment. She lets you know that your story is important and ensures you that your problems won’t be unheard.

I’ve recently interviewed a high school student, who has experienced sexual harassment at school. The student talked about what happened and how it made them feel. “It made me feel very uncomfortable, it was something that I thought about a lot,” as said in the interview audio. The student mentioned that they didn’t report it because they didn’t feel comfortable talking about it with someone they barely knew and that they wanted to completely move on from it. “I didn’t feel comfortable talking about it to people I really know, I also wanted to move on from it completely.” This student found comfort in their good friend, who let them know that it was never their fault.

Sexual harassment is a very serious topic, it’s never the victim’s fault. No one deserves, or asks for unwanted sexual attention. We all deserve to live in an environment, where we can all feel safe. Sexual harassment can happen to anyone reguardless of gender, race, or sexuality. It doesn’t have to include sexual touching or contact. It can also include sexual comments, inappropriate jokes, or showing offensive material to you or others. You might want to talk to a trusted friend or family member that gives you comfort, you don’t have to deal with it yourself.

Never judge anyone’s story, you may never know what they’ve been through or what they felt. Let’s try to make changes by taking care of each other and making sure everyone’s safe.

Sexual harassment is illegal (under the Sex Discrimination Act 1984).