View the Sexual Harassment and Students of Color Power Topic

Acknowledgment

Special thanks to Sarah Wing and Elizabeth Tang at the National Women’s Law Center for creating this presentation.

What’s Ahead

• What is sexual harassment?
• How does it affect students?
• Why students of color are uniquely impacted
• Why many students do not report
• Why getting help can be difficult
• How schools can better prevent and respond
• Seven ways to prevent sexual harassment
• Five ways to respond to sexual harassment

What Is Sexual Harassment?

Sexual harassment is any unwanted sexual conduct, including:

• Sexual “jokes,” slurs, rumors, or catcalling
• Sexual messages, images, or videos
• Kissing or touching private body parts, including rape
• Threats, violence, stalking, or abuse by someone you are dating or previously dated
• Any romantic or sexual contact between a child and an adult, even if the child appears to consent or does not reject the relationship

How Does Sexual Harassment Affect Students?

• 56% of girls and 40% of boys in grades 7–12 experience sexual harassment each year.
• More than 1 in 5 girls ages 14–18 are kissed or touched without consent.
• 58% of LGBTQ+ youth ages 13–21 experience sexual harassment.

Students of Color Are Uniquely Impacted

• Girls of color face increased risk due to both gender and race.
• Forced sex was reported by:
  • 11% of Indigenous girls
  • 9% of Black girls
  • 7% of Latina girls
  • 6% of girls overall
• Harmful racial and sexual stereotypes label girls of color as “promiscuous” and less deserving of protection.

Why Don’t Students Just Report?

• Fear of retaliation or backlash
• Belief the abuse was “not serious enough”
• Shame, embarrassment, or emotional distress
• Belief no one will help
• Fear reporting will make things worse

Only 2% of girls ages 14–18 who are kissed or touched without consent report the incident to their school.

Discussion

Why do so few students report sexual harassment, especially students of color?

1. Schools are more likely to ignore, blame, or punish Black and brown girls due to racist and sexist stereotypes.
2. Black girls are often “adultified” and assumed to have consented.
3. Students of color are perceived as less worthy of care and protection.
4. Some students avoid reporting to police to prevent overcriminalization of men and boys of color.

Scenarios

Questions to consider:

• How is race a factor?
• How would you respond?
• What barriers exist to reporting?

Scenario 1

Aaliyah, a Black high school student, is repeatedly touched without consent and subjected to comments about her body. When she reports to a teacher, she is blamed for how she dresses and stereotyped.

Scenario 2

Tim, a Korean American middle school student, is subjected to racist harassment. A classmate sexually assaults him while making racist sexualized comments.

Why Is It Hard to Get Help?

• Students are ignored or disbelieved when administrators label abuse as consensual or accuse students of lying.
• Survivors are punished for trauma responses, absenteeism, or defending themselves.
• Racist and sexist narratives increase retaliation against students of color.
• Black girls are often labeled “aggressive” for trauma-related behavior.

Preventing and Responding to Sexual Harassment

Learn more: National Women’s Law Center Student Toolkit

Seven Ways to Prevent Sexual Harassment

1. Provide comprehensive K–12 sex education
2. Train all school staff
3. Remove police from schools
4. Invest in counselors and support staff
5. Abolish dress codes
6. Respect transgender and nonbinary students
7. Collect climate survey data

Five Ways to Respond to Sexual Harassment

1. Make reporting easy and accessible
2. Support students who report
3. Do not punish survivors
4. Conduct fair and timely investigations
5. Offer restorative processes when appropriate

Final Discussion

• Which prevention strategies stood out to you?
• Which response strategies would make your school safer?