Sexual Harassment Essays (544 words) - Behavior, Human Behavior

Sexual Harassment "First of all, let me say that being sexually harassed since 5th grade has gone beyond the damage of affecting the way I feel.... Now...I have no pride, no self- confidence, and still no way out of the [misery] I am put through in my school."1 Sexual harassment of students is a real and serious problem in education at all levels, including elementary and secondary schools as well as colleges and universities. It can affect any student, regardless of sex, race, or age. Sexual harassment can threaten a student's physical or emotional well-being, influence how well a student does in school, and make it difficult for a student to achieve his or her career goals. Moreover, sexual harassment is illegal--Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) prohibits sex discrimination, including sexual harassment. Preventing and remedying sexual harassment in schools is essential to ensure nondiscriminatory, safe environments in which students can learn. A...student should feel safe and comfortable walking down the halls of his or her school. School is a place for learning and growing. Sexual harassment stops that process.2 This pamphlet provides school administrators, teachers, students, and parents with fundamental information to assist them in recognizing and dealing with sexual harassment under Title IX. It outlines basic principles in question-and-answer format. Some more information about a school's responsibilities has been omitted, and school officials should read "Sexual Harassment Guidance: Harassment of Students by School Employees, Other Students, or Third Parties" to ensure a full understanding of the law. Parents and students can also consult this Guidance, for more information about student rights. The Guidance was published by the Office for Civil Rights in the Federal Register on March of 1997 and may be obtained from any of the OCR Enforcement Offices or by calling 1-800-421-3481. It is also posted on OCR s web page at http://www.ed.gov/offices/OCR/ocrpubs.html. Sexual harassment can occur at any school activity and can take place in classrooms, halls, cafeterias, dormitories and other areas. Too often, the behavior is allowed to continue simply because students and employees are not informed about what sexual harassment is or how to stop it. Students, parents and school staff must be able to recognize sexual harassment, and understand what they can do to prevent it from occurring and how to stop it if it does occur. Harassing behavior, if ignored or not reported, is likely to continue and become worse, rather than go away. The impact of sexual harassment on a student's educational progress and attainment of future goals can be significant and should not be underestimated. As a result of sexual harassment, a student may, for example, have trouble learning, drop a class or drop out of school altogether, lose trust in school officials, become isolated, fear for personal safety, or lose self-esteem. For these reasons, a school should not accept, tolerate or overlook sexual harassment. A school should not excuse the harassment with an attitude of "that's just emerging adolescent sexuality" or "boys will be boys," or ignore it for fear of damaging a professor's reputation. This does nothing to stop the sexual harassment and can even send a message that such conduct is accepted or tolerated by the school. When a school makes it clear that sexual harassment will not be tolerated, trains its staff, and appropriately responds when harassment occurs, students will see the school as a safe place where everyone can learn.