Student On Student Sexual Harassment Ppt

Student On Student Sexual Harassment Ppt

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  Student-on-Student SexualHarassment William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
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  What is Student-on-StudentSexual Harassment? Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) makes a distinction between two types of sexual harassment.
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  (1) Quid ProQuo Harassment Literally means “this for that” harassment. Where academic opportunities or benefits are linked with sexual conduct.
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  (2) Hostile EnvironmentHarassment Harassment where unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature is considered so severe, pervasive and offensive that it deprives the victim of access to educational opportunities or benefits.
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  Determining Whether orNot a Hostile Environment Exists Circumstances to consider might be: Type of Frequency Duration of the Conduct Number of individuals involved Ages and gender of the alleged harassers and victims Size of school Locations of the incidents Context in which they occurred.
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  What constitutes “conduct of sexual nature?” Sexual advances Sexual touching Sexual graffiti Explicit drawings, & pictures Sexual gestures Sexual or “dirty” jokes Spreading rumors about other students as to sexual activity
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  Common Reasons forSexual Harassment Thought it was funny (59%) It’s just part of school life/A lot of people do it/It’s no big deal (30%) I thought the person liked it (32%) I wanted a date with the person (17%) I wanted something from that person (20%) I wanted the person to think I had some sort of power over them(10%)
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  Title IX ofEducation Amendments of 1972 No education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance may exclude, deny benefits to or discriminate against any person on the basis of sex(20 U.S.C. Sec 1681.a.). The purpose of the statute is to prevent “Discriminatory practices” in education and “to provide…effective protection against those practices.”
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  What schools andactivities are covered by Title IX? Title IX applies to all public and private educational institutions receiving federal aid, including elementary, secondary, and post secondary schools. This means that all public schools and many private schools are covered. Title IX applies to all school-sponsored activities, including athletics, field trips, extracurricular programs, and bus transportation.
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  Landmark Cases Davisv. Monroe County Board of Education (526 U.S. 629 (1999) Vance v. Spencer county Public School District 231 F. 3d 253 (6 th Cir. 2000) Doe v. university of illinois (96-3511) 7 th Cir 1998)
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  Davis v. MonroeCounty Board of Education (119 S.Ct. 1661) 1999 Supreme Court extended the liability of Title IX to include “student-on-student” sexual harassment. LaShonda Davis -5 th grade student reported to her mother and teacher that a male classmate made vulgar comments and tried to touch her genital area and her breasts on repeated occasions.
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  Eleventh Circuit ConclusionTitle IX does not provide schools notice of liability concerning actions of others. But a school’s “deliberate indifference” to known acts of harassment” is itself misconduct prohibited by Title IX which can trigger a private damage action by the plaintiff (Davis, 1999, p. 1671).
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  Doe v. Universityof Illinois No. 96-3511 (March 3, 1998, 7 th Circuit) Ruled that liability for student-on-student harassment will attach to a school district to take prompt appropriate action in response to such harassment that takes place when students are involved in school activities or otherwise under the supervision of employees.
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  Evidence When AdministrativeHave Knowledge The school prinicipal was made aware of behavior. Repeated complaints, boy was not disciplined His offensive comments and actions continued. It escalated in severity. Boy charged for misconduct and guilty to sexual battery.
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  Sexual Harrassment Commonat every stage of education. Verbal and physical harassment begins in Elementary. 4 out of 5 children experience some form of sexual harassment. 6 out 10 will experience some form of physical sexual harassment.
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  Statistics Student-on-Student Sexual Harrassment Survey of 2064 students 8 th -11 grade 83% girls have been sexually harassed. 78% of boys have been sexually harassed. American Association of University Women 2002
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  Teacher & StaffEducation Communicate, communicate, communicate with staff and students about harassment. Be observant; l Let them know their obligation and responsibility to respond promptly to all complaints on student-on-student sexual harassment. Offer in service workshops
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  References Cawley, T.J., Hunton & Williams (1997). Legal issue surrounding peer sexual harassment. VSBA School law conference. Charlottesville, Virginia. Faber, J. (1992). Expanding Title IX of the education amendments of 1972 to prohibit student to student sexual harassment. UCLA woman’s law journal. Retrieved April 9, 2008 http:// caselaw.lp.findlaw.com Garrett, F. B. (1999). Student-on-student sexual harassment. Find law for legal professionals. Retrieved April 9, 2008. http:// library.findlaw.com