Sexual Harassment Is Child’s Play

Think back to your childhood playground. Do you remember little Tommy pinching little Susie’s butt? Or little Sally chasing little Archie around to get a kiss? Do you remember little Joe flipping up girls’ skirts? Is it all just innocent child-play? Not according to a new study, it isn’t.

The study from the American Association of University Women (AAUW) discovered that nearly 50 percent of the students surveyed from Grade 7 – 12 have experienced some form of sexual harassment — 60 percent were girls.

The study had a broad definition of sexual harassment which included unwanted sexual comments, looks or touches, cyber bullying and homophobic insults.

In Canada, 8 out of 10 female students said they had been sexually harassed at school. Girls were much more likely to report having received sexual comments, unwanted looks or touches, and having parts of their body commented on or rated. In contrast, boys were much more likely to report being called homophobic insults.

If pinching someone’s ass or passing a comment on someone’s breasts is unacceptable for adults, why is it allowed in school hallways and playgrounds?

“It is crucial that schools find ways to address these forms of abuse and violence, so that youth feel safe at school. It’s never too early to start – many of these negative patterns of harassment begin in elementary school, and the long-term solution will involve education that teaches positive relationship skills and respect for others,” said Dr. David Wolfe, principal investigator and Director of CAMH’s Centre for Prevention Science in London, Ontario.

Over 40 percent of students who admitted to being active participants in sexual harassment didn’t think it was a big deal and 39 percent  thought they were being funny. They may be laughing but no one else is. Almost 90 percent of those harassed reported negative effects such as feeling unsafe at school and losing sleep.

We need to educate children that passing comments on breasts or calling someone gay is not an amusing or acceptable everyday occurrence. Perhaps even more importantly, we need to educate the bystanders who witness such incidents to start calling out their classmates. Helping students become active bystanders will establish what is acceptable in school and what is not.

So next time you see little Tommy pinching little Sally’s butt, you might just want to stop yourself from dismissing his behaviour as child’s play. There’s probably a couple pairs of little eyes that are waiting and watching to see what you will do next.

Contact the author here: syahidah@morningquickie.com