Rooted Leader: Kayla | Sexual Harassment |
Stopping the Problem Before it Starts
What are some approaches teens can take to prevent uncomfortable situations such as sexual harassment?
Kayla formed this question after observing incidents of sexual harassment at her school that have led to a culture of minimizing students’ experiences with this form of violence.
“Consent is being vulnerable.
Consent is peaceful.
Consent is excitement.
Consent is being comfortable and feeling safe.
Consent is when people wholeheartedly agree to do something, a verbally spoken agreement asking for your own comfort and security as well as the other persons.
Consent is a clear and enthusiastic yes, not a yes after convincing, not a “maybe later”, and not anything said if under the influence of any kind.
Consent means to truly connect with someone, everyone should be on the same page.
It should be universal. Consent is more than just a “yes”— it is complete trust and understanding of each individual’s intentions.“
- Kayla, Rooted Leadership Project 2020
KEY STAKEHOLDERS
Kayla decided to open conversations with peers at her school and developed a survey to identify ways that students and schools can help prevent sexual harassment. A lot of conversations centered around the tension that adults held with addressing sexual harassment at a Catholic school.
Constituents: Female Juniors and Seniors Kayla identified these students as a vulnerable group given the high occurrence of sexual harassment amongst female upperclassmen at her high school. Other students who are also impacted by the issue are freshman and sophomore students, as well as non-female identifying students.
Allies: Sexual Assault Awareness Club and some Teachers
Working with other student leaders, Kayla was able to develop survey questions and reach her peers to learn more about their thoughts about how sexual harassment could be addressed at their high school. There were also some teachers that were very responsive to the needs of students who were willing to support Kayla’s efforts.
Decision Maker: School Administration Ultimately, Kayla’s survey was stopped by the school’s administration. If the culture of silence and fear around sexual harassment is to be challenged, the students and teachers at this school need the full support of the school’s administration.
“I think we need to stop treating people who sexually assault and hurt others like they didn’t know what they were doing and made a mistake. At [our high school], it’s become apparent with past incidents of this scenario that the person responsible is not held accountable for their actions and almost let
off the hook without a single mark on their records. I think that this needs to change.”
Figure 1. A majority (66.7%) of the survey respondents were female students who expressed concerns about sexual harassment at my school.
Figure 2. The survey respondents were mostly Senior (73.3%) and Junior (20%) students at my high school, as these students were more than willing to express their feelings towards the sexual harassment problem at my high school.
Figure 3. This pie chart shows that 70% of the high school students I surveyed have experienced some form of peer pressure. The rest of the students had either never experienced this type of peer pressure (20%) or weren’t sure if they had ever been in this situation (10%).
Figure 4. Of all the students who had experienced peer pressure in Figure 3, more than half (36.7/70 = 52.43%) shared that they gave in to the peer pressure.
Figure 5. This bar graph provides examples of reasons why people gave in to peer pressure. The most common answer was that the person pressuring them was popular.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the findings from her survey and discussions, Kayla believes that her community can help prevent sexual harassment by following the recommendations she has outlined below. She has divided her recommendations to address both youth as well as her school and potential allies.
Recommendations for Schools and Adult Allies
It is important for the school to implement an effective teaching strategy for the student body to understand sexual harassment and way to avoid and overcome any possible situation.
Having experienced sexual harassment firsthand, the biggest challenge I’ve faced during this journey is knowing that if someone were here 3 years ago with solutions like the ones I’ve learned from my peers at school and in this program, I may have had a better knowledge of how to overcome the struggles I went through.
One simple action adults can take to address this issue would be to remind youth that they aren’t alone. They don’t need to know everything right now in terms of likes, dislikes, and comfort and that’s okay. Adults should remind their children or students as long as they are comfortable and happy, they shouldn’t feel obligated to do anything they don’t want to do just to please others.
Some complex changes that need to happen would include having the conversation. Adults shouldn’t feel scared or awkward when talking to teens about staying safe in friendships, relationships and in life. It is important for teens to have a trusted adult to talk to, so adults need to take that first step and show they can be that trusted adult.
Recommendations for Teens
It is important to reflect on our comfort zones. Be sure to establish boundaries for yourself to ensure confidence when speaking openly about them with someone else. One simple action youth can take to address this issue would be to clearly communicate their boundaries with one another and not be afraid to start the conversation. One short, long or possibly awkward conversation can make a huge difference for the better.
If you are really passionate about making a change in your community but you don’t think there’s anything you can do about it, you are very wrong. No problem is too big to handle and there is no reason you should be expected to do it alone either. There are a lot of people out in the world who are ready to make a change with you so don’t hesitate for another minute!