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Sexual harassment in education in the United States
 | This article has an unclear citation style. (January 2024) |
Sexual harassment in education in the United States is an unwelcome behavior of a sexual nature that interferes with an American student's ability to learn, study, work or participate in school activities. It is common in middle and high schools in the United States.[1] Sexual or gender harassment[2] is a form of discrimination under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.[3] Sexual harassment involves a range of behavior from mild annoyances to unwanted touching and, in extreme cases, rape or other sexual assault.[4][5]
The definition of sexual harassment includes harassment by both peers and individuals in a position of power relative to the person being harassed. In schools, though sexual harassment initiated by students is most common, it can also be perpetrated by teachers or other school employees, and the victim can be a student, a teacher, or other school employee. Some have argued that even consensual sexual interactions between students and teachers constitute harassment because the inherent power differential creates a dynamic in which "mutual consent" is impossible.[4]
- ^ Catherine Hill and Holly Kearl (November 2011). Crossing the Line (2011):Sexual Harassment at School. Washingtone, D.C.: AAUW. p. 76. ISBN 978-1-879922-41-9. Archived from the original (Book or PDF file) on November 9, 2011. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
Sexual harassment is part of everyday life in middle and high schools. Nearly half (48 percent) of the students surveyed experienced some form of sexual harassment in the 2010–11 school year, and the majority of those students (87 percent) said it had a negative effect on them.
- ^ Russlynn Ali Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (October 26, 2010). "Letter to a Colleague" (PDF). United States Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
Although Title IX does not prohibit discrimination based solely on sexual orientation, Title IX does protect all students, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students, from sex discrimination. When students are subjected to harassment on the basis of their LGBT status, they may also, as this example illustrates, be subjected to forms of sex discrimination prohibited under Title IX. The fact that the harassment includes anti‐LGBT comments or is partly based on the target's actual or perceived sexual orientation does not relieve a school of its obligation under Title IX to investigate and remedy overlapping sexual harassment or gender‐based harassment.
- ^ "Sexual Harassment Guidance 1997". 16 October 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
- ^ a b Dzeich, Billie Wright and Linda Weiner (1990). The Lecherous Professor: Sexual Harassment on Campus, University of Illinois Press.
- ^ Drawing the Line: Sexual Harassment on Campus (2006), the American Association of University Women
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