Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Sexual Harassment: Peer Harassment in Middle and High School Authors: Amber Bruggman, Melissa Rosales Neff, Kimberly Ortiz-Hartman and Laura Gale Editor: Paul Moglia Date: 2022 From: Parenting: Styles & Strategies Publisher: Salem Press, Inc. Document Type: Topic overview Pages: 4 Content Level: (Level 4)

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Sexual Harassment: Peer Harassment in Middle and High School

Introduction In the past 25 years research on sexual harassment has extended from investigations of sexual harassment in the workplace to sexual harassment in schools, particularly secondary schools and universities. Although students can be sexually harassed by teachers or other school staff, sexual harassment by peers is much more common. Perpetrators and victims can be of the opposite sex or the same sex.

Background In 1997 the U.S. Department of Education formulated the following definition for school sexual harassment:

Sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, nonverbal, or physical conduct of a sexual nature by an employee, by another student, or by a third party that is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive to limit a student’s ability to participate in or benefit from an education program or activity, or to create a hostile or abusive educational environment.

It is important to note that even though bullying and sexual harassment can overlap, they are distinct actions and are addressed by different policies and laws. Although bullying is repeated unwanted behavior that involves an imbalance of power and intention to harm, it is not sexual in nature; it may take the form of physical aggression (e.g., hitting, pushing, spitting) or name-calling, teasing, or social exclusion. Peer sexual harassment takes many forms. Students report other students making sexual comments, telling “dirty” jokes, making inappropriate gestures, or spreading sexual rumors about them. Other students report that they have been shown sexual pictures, called gay or lesbian pejoratively, have been shown someone’s private parts, or have been grabbed in a sexual way. Finally, sexual harassment can take place by electronic means, such as text, email, and social media.

Researchers agree that sexual harassment is about power. It is a way for

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someone to intimidate and assert dominance over another, creating a power imbalance between the perpetrator and the victim.

The goal of all schools should be to have a safe school climate in which rules are unambiguous, students feel that they are treated fairly, and students feel safe. A large national study recommended that all schools appoint a coordinator who is assigned to receive all complaints of sexual harassment and that schools make this person known to the student body (AAUW, 2011). Students will be more likely to approach the identified staff member rather than keeping incidents of sexual harassment to themselves because they do not know whom they can talk to.

Researchers have found that educators need more training in how to identify and handle sexual harassment in their classrooms. When they see inappropriate behavior, teachers should address the behavior directly and state that it must stop immediately. They should educate their students on what is appropriate and inappropriate behavior. Most importantly, they need to follow through with school discipline and report the perpetrator to the school administration so that actions can be taken according to the school’s sexual harassment policy (e.g., suspension, expulsion). Schools can hold workshops or assemblies for the student body to raise awareness about what sexual harassment is, what to do if students witness it, and how to respond if they are harassed. Schools should teach students assertive methods with which to respond appropriately and effectively to sexual harassment on school campuses and electronically. (Generally speaking, schools are considered liable for any electronic harassment that occurs on school grounds during school hours. Parents are liable for any that occurs after school hours.)

Facts and Figures The American Association of University Women (AAUW) published a national study in 2011 that reported that among students in grades 7–12, 56 percent of the girls and 40 percent of the boys had experienced sexual harassment in school. Of those, 87 percent reported that the harassment affected them negatively (AAUW, 2011). In another study, 130 adolescents who self-identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or questioning their sexuality were interviewed with a group of their heterosexual peers. The questioning and sexual minority youth reported higher rates of sexual harassment than their heterosexual peers (National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 2012). Researchers of a 2012 study of middle-school (grades 5–8) students in the U.S. Midwest reported that 28 percent of the girls and 34 percent of the boys reported perpetrating sexual harassment (Espelage et al., 2012).

In a large population-based study of 18,090 students from 26 different high schools, 30 percent of the students disclosed that they had been victims of sexual harassment at school (37 percent were females, 21 percent were males) and 8.5 percent disclosed that they had perpetrated sexual harassment at school (Clear et al., 2014).

Results from a study of 12–18-year-olds indicated that 59 percent of the participants had been sexually harassed. The majority were girls. Furthermore, the researchers found a correlation between being sexually harassed and psychological impairment, especially for girls (Eom et al., 2015). Researchers in another study found that boys are overwhelmingly the perpetrators of sexual harassment in high school, but that boys and girls have similar rates of sexual harassment victimization (Gruber & Fineran, 2016).

Risk Factors

Attending a school with a hostile climate is a risk factor for experiencing sexual harassment. The majority of sexual harassment between students takes place in classrooms, hallways, gyms, parking lots, and cafeterias. Therefore, if a student attends a school in which sexual harassment policies are absent or are not taken seriously, an environmental risk factor is present. Gender is also a risk factor: boys are much more likely to perpetrate sexual harassment. Therefore, being a girl is a risk factor.

Signs and Symptoms The psychosocial impact of sexual harassment for victims can be extensive and debilitating. The negative effects reported include depression, heightened anxiety, loss of appetite, sleep disturbance, feelings of being sad, afraid, or embarrassed, low self-esteem (effects on self-esteem are reported by girls more often than boys), negative educational outcomes (i.e., participating less in class, receiving lower grades, skipping class, getting in trouble with school authorities, difficulty studying). Girls also report lowered hopes and expectations for the future as a

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result of sexual harassment. Girls who are sexually harassed are more likely than boys who are harassed to attempt suicide (Clear et al., 2014).

Treatment Social workers should be aware of their own cultural values, beliefs, and biases and develop specialized knowledge about the histories, traditions, and values of their clients. Social workers should adopt treatment methodologies that reflect their knowledge of the cultural diversity of the communities in which they practice.

An important way to support victims of sexual harassment in schools is to provide an environment in which victims feel safe disclosing what happened to them. Victims often fail to report an incident of sexual harassment out of the belief that nothing will change, that the situation will get worse, or that the incident was not severe enough to report. If a student does disclose a sexual harassment incident to a social worker, he or she should respond in supportive ways. The social worker should listen to the student respectfully, letting the student know that he or she is being heard. The social worker should affirm that the incident was not the student’s fault (since many victims blame themselves for how they dressed or something that they said or did). The social worker should advise the student of his or her rights and options and help the student navigate the process of filing a complaint if the student wishes. The social worker should use appropriate therapeutic interventions to address anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, and academic problems if applicable (e.g., cognitive behavioral therapy [CBT], solution-focused therapy)

Laws and Regulations Each country has its own standards for cultural competency and diversity in social work practice. Social workers must be aware of the standards of practice set forth by their governing body (National Association of Social Workers, British Association of Social Workers, etc.) and practice accordingly

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 states that “no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.” Sexual harassment is considered a form of discrimination within the education system

Food for Thought Comprehensive sex education classes in schools enable students to discuss sexuality in a healthy, age-appropriate way and to address unwanted and unwelcome sexual experiences, such as sexual harassment

Parents often are unaware of the prevalence of sexual harassment in schools. Parents as well as students should be educated about this problem

Red Flags In a study of 270 teachers the only sexual harassment training teachers received was reported to be a video about workplace or teacher-to-student sexual harassment, as opposed to student-on-student sexual harassment. This left teachers unprepared to handle sexual harassment at their schools. Many teachers do not know how to distinguish sexual harassment from bullying, which are treated differently by the legal system (Charmaraman et al., 2013).

Research indicates that sexual harassment occurs more often in high school than middle school.

If a girl reports an incident of sexual harassment to a school employee and is told that the boy likely is teasing her because he likes her, then it instills the idea at an early age that violence is a part of love.

Researchers found that experiencing sexual harassment can erode school attachment and academic performance for high school students more than experiencing bullying (Gruber & Fineran, 2016).

—Amber Bruggman, LCSW, Laura Gale, LCSW, Kimberly Ortiz-Hartman, PsyD, LMFT, Melissa Rosales Neff, MSW

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United States Department of Labor. (2014). “Title IX, Education Amendments of 1972.” Retrieved March 8, 2016, from http://www.dol.gov/oasam/regs/statutes/titleix.htm

Wheeler, D. (2015). “NASW Standards and Indicators for Cultural Competence in Social Work Practice.” Retrieved February 23, 2016, from http://www.socialworkers.org/practice/standards/PRA- BRO-253150-CC-Standards.pdf Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2022 Salem Press, A Division of EBSCO Information Services, Inc., and Grey House Publishing, Inc. Source Citation (APA 7th Edition)    Bruggman, A., Neff, M. R., Ortiz-Hartman, K., & Gale, L. (2022). Sexual Harassment: Peer

Harassment in Middle and High School. In P. Moglia (Ed.), Parenting: Styles & Strategies (pp. 270-273). Salem Press/Grey House. https://link-gale- com.mjc.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/CX8480500089/GVRL?u=modestojc_main&sid=bookmark- GVRL&xid=f1407f35

Gale Document Number: GALE|CX8480500089