Study: Sexual Harassment Rampant In Middle Schools

A new study of 7th through 12th graders across the country reveals the disturbing news that nearly half of all students experience some form of sexual harassment, with negative effects manifesting themselves in physical ways.

The "Crossing the Line: Sexual Harassment at School" study from the American Association of University Women followed almost 2,000 students over the course of two months earlier this year. 48 percent of students overall reported being victim to some sort of sexual harassment, either in-person ("unwelcome comments or jokes, inappropriate touching or sexual intimidation") or online ("receiving unwelcome comments, jokes or pictures through texts, e-mail, Facebook and other tools, or having sexual rumors, information or pictures spread about them.").

The majority—56 percent—of victims were girls, and of that 56 percent, 52 percent they were harassed in-person and 36 percent online. “I was called a whore because I have many friends that are boys,” one ninth-grade girl said, while boys reported that the most disturbing harassment came in the form of being called "gay." Of all the students who reported that they were victims of some sort of sexual harassment, 87 percent said they were physically sick, had trouble sleeping, and even skipped school as a result.

“Bullying is getting a lot of attention,” author Holly Kearl told the Times. “We don’t want schools to forget about sexual harassment." The students in the study suggested that setting up an anonymous tip line for harassment and designating a person they could talk to would be key improvements on a day-to-day basis.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jamie Feldmar in News on November 7, 2011 5:52 PM

Comments [rss]

FU Boy

Yeah, this is nothing new. Yeah, it's good that it's getting attention. But people need to learn to deal with this shit. It's called life, and it's not going to change, and it's certainly not going to stop once you graduate.

Are we going to put legislation to make a boy that snaps a bra a sexual predators and put him on a registry? Or would we rather give kids the confidence and sense of self worth to take the actions of assholes in stride?

SFNY

Telling victims to suck it up benefits no one except the bully/harasser. That attitude actively perpetuates bullying and harassment. Do you really choose to be on that side of this issue?
It's not going to change unless society strives to change it. Point a finger at it, call out why it's wrong, start teaching kids why it's wrong, and slowly behaviors will change since the more enlightened people become, the less this kind of crap behavior will exist.

Do you not see the direct link between the need to curb school-aged bullying/harassment so that we get fewer people abusing their positions of power, like Herman Cain?

Amber

Bullying and sexual assault might not be anything new, but I think the frequency and intensity of which kids are being bullied nowadays has definitely increased because of the internet.

Also, you should never, ever have to take sexual harassment in stride. Not in middle school, not in college, not in the workplace, not in life.

nomadnewyork

Is this supposed to be news? When I was a kid, it was just the way that things were. Why do people think that bullying and sexual harassment are a new thing?

Amber

Because it used to be that when the bell rang at the end of the day, you could go home and leave all the bullying and harassment behind you at school. Now these kids are victimized and violated 24/7 because of this relatively new and amazing thing called the Internet. Constantly connected, constantly harassed.

Craig

All I got to say about this is DUH! Its just actually being called sexual harassment these days which is good and bad; what makes it bad is that it makes people weak.

nicemarmot

At least someone's acknowledging it. They could be like my middle school, who blamed me for getting sexually harassed and repeatedly assaulted. It was my own fault I grew those big titties that attracted negative attention to me! Why, I was practically shoving the boys' hands down my own bra! How can you blame a 13-year-old boy for becoming a sexual predator when there are all those boobs around turning his poor helpless self into a testosterone monster.