Sexual Harassment in School: The Public Performance of Gendered Violence

• NCJ Number: 155805
• Journal: Harvard Educational Review Volume: 65 Issue: 2 Dated: special issue (Summer 1995) Pages: 145-162
• Author(s): N Stein
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 18 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

Issues involving youth and violence are explored.

Abstract

In this article, the author argues that sexual harassment in schools is a form of gendered violence that often happens in the public arena. She presents the narratives of girls and boys about their experience of sexual harassment in schools and finds parallels with cases documented in court records and depositions. While highly publicized lawsuits and civil rights cases may have increased public awareness of the issue, inconsistent findings have sent educators mixed messages about ways of dealing with peer-to-peer sexual harassment. The antecedents of harassment, she suggests, are found in teasing and bullying, behaviors tacitly accepted by parents and teachers. She makes a case for deliberate adult intervention and the inclusion of a curriculum in schools that builds awareness of these issues. Footnotes, references