Sexual Harassment in Secondary Schools

Sexual Harassment in Secondary Schools

"I think I'll just keep out of it; that's their business." Statements such as this one reportedly occur repeatedly in scenarios involving sexual harassment in secondary schools, "...not uncommon in junior and senior high schools. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, 59% of secondary schools and 54% of middle schools report incidents of sexual harassment. Approximately 27% of these reports stem from the actions of school employees. About 22% of complaints name a teacher as responsible for the harassment." (Dragan) This research paper challenges the question, albeit: Is sexual harassment in secondary schools just the business of the victim and the perpetrator? Although the questions: "Why should I care? What difference does it make to me?" (Anderson) evolve from a fictions account of an unrelated scenario, they along with the question, "Should I tell... " depict poignant, primary questions that merit consideration. "Secondary school" students, also known as high school students (includes grades 10-12) sometimes mentally wrestle with questions such as these when they personally experience sexual harassment or witness another student being sexually harassed. This researcher contends that parents, teachers and other responsible adults need to not only make a point to tune in to and expose such incidents, but also encourage students to do so. "Cluelessness" does not serve as an excuse for not dealing with sexual harassment in high school.

Evidence of "Cluelessness" as sexual harassment in secondary school may affect the personal integrity or security of the student and/or the school environment, school administrators, staff, volunteers, caring adults, and students need to be aware of personal interactions in the school setting that could lead to inappropriate sexual relationships and/or sexual harassment. A 2003 court ruling on cluelessness confirms school staff seems "to have a duty to be suspicious and investigate any suspicions they have." (Dragan)

In the 2003-2004 school year, the most recent for which national data is available, the parents of an 11th grade student in Anaheim, Calif., sued their daughter's school district for emotional distress after they discovered their daughter had been engaged in a sexual relationship with a teacher since the 10th grade. The student had successfully concealed her relationship with the teacher and told no one about it.

While there was no evidence that anyone at the school actually knew of the sexual relationship, the federal court ruled in Steven F. v. Anaheim Union High School District there was evidence of "cluelessness." Ten teachers and the principal saw the teacher and the student in situations that ought to have raised their suspicions over the two years when the inappropriate relationship took place.

While the lawsuit initially was successful, the case was overturned on appeal, in part because the school district had required teachers to engage in extensive training on the issues of sexual harassment and interactions with students. (Dragan)

Examples of Sexual Harassment by Peers

High school students who participated in the study by Duffy, Wareham, and Walsh reported harassment to include:

hearing sexual comments or jokes, being leered at or having body stared at in sexual ways, being showed or given sexual pictures/messages having sexual messages/graffiti written about them having sexual rumors spread about them referred to as being gay or lesbian being flashed or mooned after turning down sexual advances having someone brush against them and/or touch/grab them in sexual way having clothing pulled down/off in a sexual way being blocked or cornered in a sexual way to do something other than kissing being forced to engage in sexual intercourse (Duffy, Wareham, and Walsh)

Examples of Sexual Harassment by School Employees

Timmerman notes research on the sexual harassment of adolescents in secondary schools primarily on the prevalence, the types of behaviors, and the gender and the position of the victim or perpetrator (American Association of University Women Educational Foundation [AAUWEF], 1993, 2001; Houston & Hwang, 1996; Larkin, 1994; Stein, Marshall, & Tropp, 1993). Research on the differences or similarities (and the circumstances in which these behaviors occur) between sexual harassment by teachers or peers is less prevalent." Consequently, a dearth of research explicitly focusing on sexual harassment of students perpetrated by secondary school teachers exists as schools are reluctant to participate in surveys identifying teachers' sexual misconduct. Limited information from a few studies, nevertheless, indicates sexual harassment by teachers occurs in typically busy classroom settings, as well as at locations where the teacher and the student are alone (Corbett, Gentry, & Pearson, 1993, cited by Timmerman)

In the study completed by Timmerman, published in 2003, participants included 2,808 14 or 15-year-old, fourth-year students in secondary schools in the northern and the central regions of the Netherlands. Fifty-five percent of the students were girls, and 45% were boys. The following figure (1) denotes individuals that participants who were victims of sexual harassment related accounts to.

Figure 1: Individuals Students Reported Sexual Harassment Incidents to (Timmerman)

Dragan identifies the following behaviors of school employee behavior that could lead to sexual harassment charges:

tutoring a student in a secluded area or behind a closed door; taking students home after school in private vehicles; making personal telephone calls to students; making suggestive comments to students or acting in a flirtatious manner; inviting students to their home; and touching students inappropriately and when they do not want to be touched. (Dragan)

Common Consequences

Even though females reportedly are more likely than males to be upset by sexual harassment (Fineran & Bennett, 1999, cited by Duffy, Wareham, & Walsh), high school male victims of sexually harassment report "trouble talking, feeling emotionally hurt, feeling uncomfortable, anger, and self-hate. (OSSTF, 1995, cited by Duffy, Wareham, & Walsh)

Despite the fact that in the study completed by Duffy, Wareham, & Walsh, a small number of male and female students (12%) reported feeling more popular as a result of sexual harassment (AAUW, 1993, cited by Duffy, Wareham, & Walsh), negative consequences evolving from sexual harassment, as noted by self-reports from high school students, include physical, emotional/psychological, and educational problems. "These consequences have been reported not just in cases of students harassed by teachers, but also in cases of students harassed by peers." (Duffy, Wareham, & Walsh) the more severe sexual harassment students experience, the more likely they report psychological or educational problems, and/or to attempt to avoid their harasser (Houston & Hwang, 1996; Lee et al., 1996, cited by Duffy, Wareham, & Walsh) This frequently translates into avoidance behaviors, which includes not attending school to avoid the harasser. (AAUW, 1993, cited by Duffy, Wareham, & Walsh) Physical consequences of sexual harassment that students experience include "trouble with appetite, gastrointestinal disorders, and/or sleep disorders." (Lee et al., 1996; Paludi, 1997, cited by Duffy, Wareham, & Walsh) Fear, low self-confidence, embarrassment, and doubt about ever having a happy romantic relationship constitute some of the reported emotional/psychological consequences high school sexual harassment victims may experience. (AAUW, 1993, 2001, cited by Duffy, Wareham, & Walsh) Educational consequences include problems concentrating, being distracted in classroom, avoidance behaviors, as well as, lower academic grades and poor self-esteem. (AAUW, 1993, 2001; OSSTF, 1995 cited by Duffy, Wareham, & Walsh)

Some victims experience suicidal ideations.

Confronting and Combating the Problem to combat problems such as sexual harassment in high school, parents, students and school employees need to "tell"; to speak up. After defining the problem, those responsible for righting wrongs need to devise a strategy for change, and then follow-up to insure the perpetrator is held accountable; that the victim receives help and that positive changes are implemented to help ensure the misconduct does not reoccur. This researcher agrees with Cynthia Whitfield, a freelance writer who states: "We sell our kids short when we stick our heads in the sand." ("Parents Should Speak Up" A9) When necessary solutions to a problem are not forthcoming, it may be necessary to involve the media.