Sexual harassment sounds like an adult issue, something that is a problem in a work environment. Most people won’t even hear it identified or defined until possibly late in high school, or until they start their first jobs, but sexual harassment can start as early as elementary school. What’s worse is that children are unaware that the behavior is wrong, and so it just continues. A lot of people claim that educating children about sexual behavior is unnecessary, when it could help develop healthier future expectations of relationships with others around them, and create a safer learning environment for students.
Sexual harassment is difficult to define, mostly due to the wide range of behaviors that are classified as sexual harassment. It …show more content…
Sexual harassment can start as young as in elementary schools, and adults tend to play it off as “boys will be boys”, or “that’s how they show they like you” (Sherer, 1994). This leads to conditioning that the behavior is okay. It’s okay to flip up a girl’s skirt in elementary school, because it’s a game, and it’s okay to “moo” at a girl who is more developed because they’re just joking (Sherer, 1994) They’re just being boys. This does two things to the children though. It tells boys that it’s okay to treat a girl like that, and it tells girls to expect to be treated that way all their life. When what really should be happening is an explanation to both genders that this behavior isn’t okay, and disciplinary action to deter further behavior. Almost half the students in middle and high school who admit to sexually harassing another student claim they didn’t think it was a “big deal”, only about three percent say they do it because they like the other student (AAUW, 2011). It’s not so cute as they get older, is …show more content…
Imagine getting sexually harassed every day by one specific student every day, this can cause a student to lose focus in class, always waiting for the next comment or gesture made towards them. Twelve percent of students say they’ve skipped school to completely avoid running into the harasser (AAUW, 2011). If a student is willing to completely miss school because of discomfort, then this puts strain on their education and future. This can create the mindset that school isn’t as important for the sake of avoiding the situation. Students have also admitted to losing sleep, feeling sick to their stomach, or even completely stop doing an activity or sport in school because of the harassment (AAUW, 2011). It’s can greatly and negatively impact student’s everyday lives. However, most students’ reactions to the harassment is do nothing. This could be from a lack of understanding of what is happening while it’s going on. Girls will say that certain behavior made them uncomfortable, but that they didn’t say anything because they thought they were just over reacting, or maybe they were the ones who didn’t understand the joke. When thirty-nine percent of harassers say, they thought they were joking, it’s understandable that the victim may feel this way (AAUW, 2011). If the behavior is identified early as harassment, and taught to be wrong then perhaps both parties wouldn’t take this serious
Sexual harassment is difficult to define, mostly due to the wide range of behaviors that are classified as sexual harassment. It …show more content…
Sexual harassment can start as young as in elementary schools, and adults tend to play it off as “boys will be boys”, or “that’s how they show they like you” (Sherer, 1994). This leads to conditioning that the behavior is okay. It’s okay to flip up a girl’s skirt in elementary school, because it’s a game, and it’s okay to “moo” at a girl who is more developed because they’re just joking (Sherer, 1994) They’re just being boys. This does two things to the children though. It tells boys that it’s okay to treat a girl like that, and it tells girls to expect to be treated that way all their life. When what really should be happening is an explanation to both genders that this behavior isn’t okay, and disciplinary action to deter further behavior. Almost half the students in middle and high school who admit to sexually harassing another student claim they didn’t think it was a “big deal”, only about three percent say they do it because they like the other student (AAUW, 2011). It’s not so cute as they get older, is …show more content…
Imagine getting sexually harassed every day by one specific student every day, this can cause a student to lose focus in class, always waiting for the next comment or gesture made towards them. Twelve percent of students say they’ve skipped school to completely avoid running into the harasser (AAUW, 2011). If a student is willing to completely miss school because of discomfort, then this puts strain on their education and future. This can create the mindset that school isn’t as important for the sake of avoiding the situation. Students have also admitted to losing sleep, feeling sick to their stomach, or even completely stop doing an activity or sport in school because of the harassment (AAUW, 2011). It’s can greatly and negatively impact student’s everyday lives. However, most students’ reactions to the harassment is do nothing. This could be from a lack of understanding of what is happening while it’s going on. Girls will say that certain behavior made them uncomfortable, but that they didn’t say anything because they thought they were just over reacting, or maybe they were the ones who didn’t understand the joke. When thirty-nine percent of harassers say, they thought they were joking, it’s understandable that the victim may feel this way (AAUW, 2011). If the behavior is identified early as harassment, and taught to be wrong then perhaps both parties wouldn’t take this serious