Sexual harassment in education in the United States is an unwelcome behavior of a sexual nature that interferes with an American student's ability to learn, study, work or participate in school activities. It is common in middle and high schools in the United States. Sexual or gender harassment is a form of discrimination under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Sexual harassment involves a range of behavior from mild annoyances to unwanted touching and, in extreme cases, rape or other sexual assault.Dzeich, Billie Wright and Linda Weiner (1990). The Lecherous Professor: Sexual Harassment on Campus, University of Illinois Press.Drawing the Line: Sexual Harassment on Campus (2006), the American Association of University Women
The definition of sexual harassment includes harassment by both peers and individuals in a position of power relative to the person being harassed. In schools, though sexual harassment initiated by students is most common, it can also be perpetrated by teachers or other school employees, and the victim can be a student, a teacher, or other school employee. Some have argued that even consensual sexual interactions between students and teachers constitute harassment because the inherent power differential creates a dynamic in which "mutual consent" is impossible.
Statistics In their 2000 survey on 2064 students in 8th through 11th grade, the American Association of University Women (AAUW) reported: 81% or eight out of 10 students experience sexual harassment in school 83% of girls have been sexually harassed 78% of boys have been sexually harassed 38% of the students were harassed by teachers or school employees 36% of school employees or teachers were harassed by students 42% of school employees or teachers had been harassed by each other
In their recent study (AAUW 2006) on sexual harassment at colleges and universities, the AAUW claimed that while both men and women were targets of sexual harassment, "women are disproportionately negatively affected."
62% of female college students and 61% of male college students report having been sexually harassed at their university. 66% of college students know someone personally who was harassed. 10% or fewer of student sexual harassment victims attempt to report their experiences to a university employee. 35% or more of college students who experience sexual harassment do not tell anyone about their experiences. 80% of students who experienced sexual harassment report being harassed by another student or former student. 39% of students who experienced sexual harassment say the incident or incidents occurred in the dorm. 51% of male college students admit to sexually harassing someone in college, with 22% admitting to harassing someone often or occasionally. 31% of female college students admit to harassing someone in college. Over 70% of LGBT college students have experienced sexual harassment.
In the "Report Card on Gender Equity," the NCWGE that 30 percent of undergraduate students, and 40 percent of graduate students, have been sexually harassed. (NCWGE, 1997)
The Associated Press reported 2,500 cases of teacher sexual misconduct between 2002 and 2007. From 2001 to 2005, 2,570 teacher credentials were revoked for sexual misconduct. There were about 3 million teachers at the time.
Demographics
Gender According to surveys conducted by the AAUW in 1993 and 2001: While in both surveys, female students reported experiencing sexual harassment more than the male students, the percentage of male students reporting sexual harassment increased from 49% in 1993 to 56% in 2001. In 2001, female students who had been sexually harassed in school reported male-to-female harassment that was one-on-one while male students who experienced sexual harassment reported either one-to-one harassment by a female, or harassment by a group of females.
Race In the same surveys (AAUW 1993, 2001) it was found that: 21% of white male students reported having had someone tug at or pull down their clothing in an inappropriate way, while only 10% of African American male students reported this. While 51% of Hispanic and 51% of white female students experienced being touched in an inappropriate, sexual manner, 67% of African American females experienced this. 18% of Hispanic, 15% of white, and 28% of African American female students reported having been forced to kiss someone. 30% of Hispanic, 32% of white, and 50% of African American female students have had someone tug or pull down their clothing in an inappropriate way.
Types There are three primary types of sexual harassment found in schools: verbal, visual/non-verbal, and physical. The most common type is verbal, followed by physical, and visual/non-verbal. In the survey conducted by the AAUW in 2000, it was found that 6 out of 10, or 58% of the students reported experiencing some form of physical harassment at some point during their time in school, and 76% reported experiencing nonphysical (verbal or visual/nonverbal) at some point during their time in school.
Verbal Verbal sexual harassment includes unwanted sexual humor, sexual rumors, inappropriate sexual name calling, and homophobic slurs, judging or rating others' body parts, pressure for sexual relationships, and sexual harassment via phone calls.
Visual/non-verbal Visual/non-verbal sexual harassment includes unwanted written sexual communication (notes, text messages, letters, email), unwanted sexual facial expressions or gestures, indecent exposure, and the showing of sexual pictures.
Advancements in technology have expanded visual/non-verbal sexual harassment to also include taking unsolicited photographs and videos of students.
Physical Physical sexual harassment includes sexually brushing against someone, having one's clothing pulled or tugged in a sexual manner, unwanted sexual touching, and any forced kissing or touching.
Peer-to-peer
Most sexually harassing behavior is student-on-student. In "The Report Card on Gender Equity", by the National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education (NCWGE), it was reported that, of students who have been sexually harassed, 90% were harassed by other students. (NCWGE, 1997) And in their 2006 report on sexual harassment in higher education, the AAUW reported that 80% of students sexually harassed were targeted by other students. (AAUW, 2006)
One of the most common reasons reported for sexually harassing behavior is because the harasser thinks it is funny to do so. In their 2006 study, the AAUW found that this was the most common rationale for harassment by boys—59 percent used it. Less than one-fifth (17%) of those boys who admitted to harassing others say they did so because they wanted a date with the person. (AAUW, 2006) Other researchers assert that the "I thought it was funny" rationale is a fallacy, and the true reasons align more with that of a need to assert power and induce fear in others—more in line with bullying. These hazing behaviors develop in school, continue in high school and college, eventually moving into the workplace. (Boland, 2002)
In late 2006/early 2007 a study revealed that more than 20% of all boys had been harassed by a female student. In 15% of all cases the girl admitted to sexually harassing the boy and asserted the reasons of "I thought it was funny" and "I'm not doing any harm, it's what he wanted". High schools are addressing this behavior.
Peer-to-peer sexual harassment is three times more likely than perpetration by teachers or other school faculty. Sexual harassment between peers may also be a result of students trying to conform to expected gender norms created by society. It can also be used as a tool for gender policing. For example, this could be seen if a male is exhibiting behavior not seen to peers as being masculine, so others may label him with homophobic slurs in order to reinforce gender conformity through a form of nonphysical sexual harassment. Students may exhibit, accept, or tolerate this conforming behavior as to not cause rifts in peer groups.
Developmental causes may also result in sexual harassment among students. Those who are unprepared to interact with those of the opposite sex, are unable to appropriately read social cues, or try to exhibit sexual interest in another while not understanding appropriate boundaries, may end up engaging in sexually harassing behavior.
By teachers
Prevalence A literature review of educator sexual misconduct published by the US Department of Education in 2004 written by researcher Charol Shakeshaft found that 9.6% of high school students have experienced some form of sexual misconduct. Black, Hispanic, and Native American Indian children are at greatest risk for sexual abuse. Also at increased risk are children with disabilities; the reason for this may be their greater need for individual attention and their possible problems with communicating.
Children who have been victims of educator sexual misconduct usually have low self-esteem, and they are likely to develop suicidal ideation and depression. Because the abuser was a person the child was encouraged to trust, they may experience a sense of betrayal.
Shakeshaft also claimed that sexual abuse in public schools "is likely more than 100 times the abuse by priests."
In November 2024, Shakeshaft released a new book called "Organizational Betrayal: How School Enable Sexual Misconduct and How to Stop It. This book largely was researched when she appeared as an expert witness in cases about sexual misconduct and made agreements to be able to use the findings in her research. Otherwise she found it hard to get people to talk about educator sexual misconduct in K-12, which is the area she covers.
She writes in the book that more than the perpetrator is complicit in the continuing child sexual abuse by school employees. She states the entire community bears responsibility from teachers who suspected but did not say anything to administrators who ignored the allegations to leadership. In fact, she writes "We are all complicit."
Shakeshaft concludes that one of the reasons there haven't been more studies on educator sexual misconduct is that as a society there isn't a will to know. She discusses this in a Harvard Graduate School of Education interview where she stresses the importance of reporting boundary violations and states she hasn't seen a person's life ruined by a report that wasn't of concern. She states, "So sexual misconduct is targeting a student in a sexual way. It could be language. It could be behaviors. It could be sharing pornographic materials. The behaviors can be anyplace from playing with their hair and talking to them about sex, to hugging in a sexual way, to sexual intercourse."
In the interview, Shakeshaft also states that the problem seems to be increasing from the 9.6 percent figure she found in 2004 to a 17.4 percent of students in public schools who have experienced educator sexual misconduct as found in a study "Title IX Policy Implementation and Sexual Harassment Prevalence in K-12 Schools" by Billie Jo Grant et al published in the 2023 Educational Policy publication using data from the 2018-2019 year.
Shakeshaft uses 132 cases of employee sexual misconduct that she wrote reports on to provide the basis for her research in "Organizational Betrayal." She states that she is often asked why educators would sexually abuse students and her answer is "because they can." She writes that not enough is being done to protect students.