Sexual Harassment Among Students

Staff Training Sexual Harassment and Assault

Prevention Program (SHAPP)

(Insert School District) Public Schools

Training Date: (Insert Date)

The vision (and/or mission) of (school district) Public Schools is to (insert district vision/mission statement here)

Vision (and/or Mission) Statement

SHAPP Goals and Objectives Highlight your district’s SHAPP goals/objectives

pertaining to sexual harassment in bullet form

Use your discretion as to whether all SHAPP objectives should be listed here or simply those related to sexual harassment. If the latter is chosen, you may want to briefly mention that additional program objectives are beyond the scope of this training and will be covered in other program-related trainings/activities.

Include statement that draws clear and direct link between SHAPP goals/objectives on sexual harassment and school district vision

Definition:

Unwelcome sexual advances

Requests for sexual favors

Other inappropriate verbal, written or physical conduct of a sexual nature

Sexist terminology

What is Sexual Harassment?

Submission to the advance is made explicitly or implicitly a condition of student’s academic advancement

Submission to or rejection of advance is used as the basis for decisions affecting student’s academic advancement

Advance unreasonably interferes with the student’s academic performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive learning environment

What Is Sexual Harassment? (con’t)

Employee-to-Student:

Also called “peer sexual harassment”

Examples include: Sexual comments, gestures, jokes or looks Being touched, grabbed or pinched in a

sexual way “Flashing” or “mooning” Spreading sexual rumors

Student-to-Student:

What Is Sexual Harassment? (con’t)

Student-to-Student

Examples (con’t):

Clothing pulled at, off or down in a sexual way Being shown or given sexual messages,

pictures or notes Forced kissing Forced to do something sexual other than

kissing Being called gay or lesbian Being spied on while dressing or showering

What Is Sexual Harassment? (con’t)

Quid Pro Quo“This for that” – sexual bribery

Hostile EnvironmentA learning environment that interferes

with student’s ability to function normally without intimidation, fear, anxiety and the like

Types of Sexual Harassment

Effects of Sexual Harassment

Perpetrator

Victim

School environment

Effects of Sexual HarassmentPerpetrator

In general, little is known about subsequent effects of sexual harassment on perpetrators, though research suggests that, if gone unaddressed, unhealthy relational behaviors may continue through developmental stages in different forms, e.g. bullying in children, sexual harassment in adolescents, dating violence in adolescence and young adulthood (Stein, 1999)

Basis – unhealthy beliefs about interpersonal relations

Effects of Sexual HarassmentPerpetrator

Bullying and dominant behavior among boys entering middle school predict sexual harassment by the end of middle school (Pellegrini, in press)

High probability of recurrences with victim or other individuals if harassment goes unaddressed

Effects of Sexual HarassmentVictim

Psychological – feelings of being violated, self-consciousness, fear, embarrassment, anxiousness, decreased self-confidence, confusion over what is happening and what to do

Physical – symptoms of stress such as headaches and stomachaches

Effects of Sexual HarassmentVictim

Behavioral – avoidance of places in school, changes to route to/from school, avoidance of particular activities

Impacts on academic performance – difficulty concentrating, skipping class, truancy

Effects of Sexual HarassmentSchool Environment

Feelings of hopelessness and powerlessness among bystanders in their ability to stop the harassment

Persistent harassment can create an environment that feels unsafe, threatening and intimidating to all students

Signs of Sexual Harassment

Teachers may see abrupt changes in a student’s

Level of participation in class, attendance and grades

Social involvement with particular friends or specific activities

Self-confidence, mood

Extent of Need

(Enter district-specific data from surveys, assessments, etc. implemented with respect to sexual harassment)

(Enter here and on following slide(s))

SHAPP Strategies to Prevent Sexual Harassment

(Enter district’s plan to address sexual harassment in schools)

(Enter specific how-to’s for staff to implement SHAPP plan)

(Enter here and on following slide(s))

Evaluating Strategies to Prevent Sexual Harassment

(Enter district’s plan to evaluate sexual harassment prevention plan)

(Enter specific role of staff to evaluate the plan, include as many step-by-step how-to’s as possible)

(Enter here and on following slide(s))

ReferencesHostile Hallways: The AAUW Survey on Sexual Harassment in America’s Schools (1993). American Association of University Women.

Maryland State Department of Education. Title IX and Gender Equity. Retrieved February 1, 2006, from Maryland State Department of Education Web site: http://www.marylandpublicschools.org

National Association of State Boards of Education. Sexual harassment in schools. Alexandria, Virginia. 1998.

Pellegrini, A.D., (in press). Aggression, dominance, and sexual harassment during the transition to middle school. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology.

Stein, N. (1999). Classrooms and courtrooms: Facing sexual harassment in k-12 schools. New York: Teachers College Press.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Darleen Kahl, Safe and Drug Free Schools Coordinator, Charles County Public Schools, for her significant contributions to the conceptualization and development of this presentation.

SHAPP Contact Information

Main Contact: (Name)(Phone)(Email)

Secondary Contact: (Name)(Phone)(Email)