Sociological Analysis of Sexual Harassment in Schools: An Overview

This essay delves into the pervasive issue of sexual harassment within school environments, examining its prevalence among students from 7th to 12th grade. The essay highlights the underreporting of incidents due to fear of academic repercussions and societal norms that often downplay the severity of such behavior. It explores the influence of pornography and social media in shaping perceptions and behaviors, as well as the role of teachers and the challenges faced by universities. The author emphasizes the importance of early sex education, promoting respect, and implementing preventive measures, including the involvement of professionals to facilitate open discussions and encourage reporting. The essay concludes by advocating for government intervention to prevent sexual harassment and support victims, urging legal action against perpetrators.

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Running head: SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN SCHOOLS
Sexual Harassment in Schools
Student's Name
Institution Affiliation

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SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN SCHOOLS
Sexual harassment need not be tolerated in the workplaces, more so in schools where the targets
are pupils.
A national survey found out that almost half of the students from 7th grade to 12th grade have
suffered sexual harassment and more than a fifth of the girls from the same ranks have
experienced sexual jokes from boys and almost a third of girls aging 15 to 18 years old have
suffered unwanted touching. Girls also report cases where they sent their boyfriend's nude
pictures, and they end up being leaked.
The culture of sexual harassment is not only a threat to girls but also to boys who in many cases
have the pressure to show their ‘manhood’ by not reporting such incidents and even sometimes
baiting their classmates (Hill, & Kearl, 2011).
Many sexual harassments are not reported, a survey conducted showed that half of the victims
did not report the case and where the cases are settled, they remain a secret with undisclosed
agreements and even so the perpetrator can leave to another school leaving the victim nursing the
damage. Most of the students fear that the cases would ruin their future academic career, and so
they end up not reporting the cases.
It most disturbing to learn how sexual remarks are not taken seriously in schools and most
teachers write it off as "just children playing." The failure to take this harassment seriously
usually results to too many more cases unreported, or it makes perpetrators increase their actions
and see it as normal (Espelage, Low, Polanin, & Brown, 2013).
Teachers are the pillars of our society, but however, some are not. Few teachers are known for
sexual harassment, and most of them are male teachers but this doesn't mean that there are no
female teachers with this ill behavior but in our society, most boys see it as merit when a female

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teacher shows this kind of attention. In this setup, most female students do not report their
teachers, and when they do, respective actions are mostly not taken (Walls, Kane, & Wisneski,
2010).
Polls suggest that more than a quarter of children saw porn before they reached 12 years of age.
Pornography usually damages the self-esteem and well-being of young children especially girls
who are seen as sex objects (Cornell, 2016). I can’t explain how unfortunate it is to know that
some children view phonograph as an important basis for a relationship. This era of social media
and online platforms promotes easier access of the pornographic materials.
The British government has pledged to introduce age verification for websites relating to porn
meaning that the websites will be accessed by persons with the credit cards of such sites. They
have also proposed a plan of action such as sex education and clear national guidelines on sexual
harassment.
A guardians report suggests that the problem extends from the secondary schools to universities.
Here, the proprietors are of age and can face legal actions but instead the situation is worse as
most universities preserve their institution reputation and also fear legal cases with the alleged
perpetrators (Russell, Sinclair, Poteat, & Koenig, 2012). For the postgraduate, sexual harassment
mostly turns out to be more about abuse of position as the students prevent supervisors with the
power of ruining their future from doing so.
Sexual education should be started earlier when a child is still at a very young age; this is so
because some children engage themselves in sex even before they are taught. More importantly,
students/ pupils should be educated about respect, values and positive attitude (Kosciw, Greytak,
Bartkiewicz, Boesen, & Palmer, 2012). The schools should hire professionals with knowledge in

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this area and who are not embarrassed to lead an open discussion of this topic to teach all
students/ pupils on the issue of sexual harassment and the preventive measures.
In conclusion, sexual harassment is believed to be wrong and scandalous to the victim. As a
result, I would urge the government should take all measures to prevent such occasions from
happening, and all the aggrieved party should be encouraged to report such issues and legal
actions taken against the proprietors.

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SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN SCHOOLS
References
Cornell, D. (2016). The imaginary domain: abortion, pornography, and sexual harassment.
Routledge.
Espelage, D. L., Low, S., Polanin, J. R., & Brown, E. C. (2013). The impact of a middle school
program to reduce aggression, victimization, and sexual violence. Journal of Adolescent
Health, 53(2), 180-186.
Russell, S. T., Sinclair, K. O., Poteat, V. P., & Koenig, B. W. (2012). Adolescent health and
harassment based on discriminatory bias. American Journal of Public Health, 102(3), 493-495.
Kosciw, J. G., Greytak, E. A., Bartkiewicz, M. J., Boesen, M. J., & Palmer, N. A. (2012). The
2011 National School Climate Survey: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender Youth in Our Nation's Schools. Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network
(GLSEN). 121 West 27th Street Suite 804, New York, NY 10001.
Hill, C., & Kearl, H. (2011). Crossing the line: Sexual harassment at school. American
Association of University Women. 1111 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036.
Walls, N. E., Kane, S. B., & Wisneski, H. (2010). Gay-straight alliances and school experiences
of sexual minority youth. Youth & Society, 41(3), 307-332.