It happens to 48%, but less than a quarter talk about it
Written by Rebecca Andrews, Former Student on Tuesday, November 10, 2015
In US high schools, nearly 48% of students experience some form of sexual harassment.
The University of Michigan defined sexual harassment as “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of the sexual nature.” Out of those who fall under this definition of sexually harassed, 46% of girls and 22% of boys are harassed by sexual comments or jokes; 18% of girls and 19% of boys are negatively called gay or lesbian; 16% of girls and 10% of boys are shown unwanted pictures; 13% of girls and 3% of boys are touched inappropriately; 9% of girls and 2% of boys are intimidated sexually; 7% of both genders are inappropriately flashed; and 4% of girls and .2% of boys are forced into doing something they don’t want to do.
These statistics continue to point to the conclusion that sexual harassment is a real issue in high school. Students are constantly exposed to it, and even if they are not being personally harassed, nearly one third of girls and one quarter of boys claim that they observe sexual harassment at school at least once per year.
87% of sexual harassment victims say that the incident(s) have a negative effect on the individual, including 19% of victims to have issues sleeping and 30% of victims not want to go to school. Sexual harassment is affecting health and education, two things that impact teenagers’ quality of life.
Students who are victims rarely discuss these incidents, alienating them from any moral support to help them deal with the emotional tolls of being sexually harassed. Only 27% of victims tell their parents, while 23% tell their friends, and 9% tell a teacher.
Only 22% of victims tell the harasser to stop, while nearly half simply to try to ignore it as it’s happening. Afterwards, 50% of students do nothing about it.
As for the harassers themselves, 44% of them thought that the incident was no big deal, and 39% thought it was funny. The harassers generally target girls who are more developed (58%), pretty girls (41%), or girls who are not very “feminine” (32%). Overweight people are also targeted.
91% of students understand that students that are sexually harassed don’t bring it on themselves.
The American Association of University Women says that students’ lives are being severely affected by this, and a very small amount say anything or do anything about it. Some suggestions to improve the situation is having a councilor designating to dealing with issues related to sexual harassment. About one third of students believe that it would be useful to have a person at school assigned to addressing sexual harassment issues. Many high schoolers also believe that having an anonymous reporting system would help protect them.
While there is no “right” way to respond to every situation, telling the harasser in a strong, clear voice to stop is a good way to start. Reporting it to a trustworthy adult (teacher, parent, guidance counselor), could also provide some support or protection. Also, learning about Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which protects students legally against sexual harassment, might help if the issue becomes serious.
A student at SHS was harassed last year by three boys who catcalled her, inappropriately touched her, and eventually, texted harassing texts.
Eventually, she had an encounter in the lunchroom after school where the boys threatened rape and pushed her against a wall.
“[Afterwards] I withdrew for a little while. I have a really hard time with relationships now, and trust with most people is just not there [anymore]. I didn’t want to go to school, and I rearranged the way I walked to class [to avoid them],” said the student.
She only told her friend from a different school, and one of the administrative assistants.
Sexual harassment is a problem that appears at SHS that is negatively affecting students and their quality of life. Promoting awareness is just one thing that can begin to decrease sexual harassment incidents, but keeping open communication and researching ways to respond to harassment can help protect individuals.
