According to Timmerman, G.

Sexual Harassment of Adolescents Perpetrated by Teachers and by

Peers: An Exploration of the Dynamics of Power, Culture, and Gender in Secondary Schools when
teachers sexually harass their students it has “particularly detrimental” effects on the students
involved. Further studies such as the one done in 2009 by Chiodo et al. goes more in depth into the
consequences stating “elevated risk of suicidal thoughts” and a range of other behaviours often
associated with delinquency. “…variety of negative outcomes ranging from embarrassment… or even
depression.” This can be seen in a study from Canada by Nadeem and Graham in 2005.

In terms of prevalence of sexual harassment in schools, the results vary between countries,
education levels, types of harassment (physical, visual or verbal) and even fields of study. Chiodo et
al. (2009) reports that in 9th grade 44% of girls and 42% of boys experienced incidents of sexual
harassment. The girls, however, experienced more physical and verbal harassment “unwanted
touch” and “sexual jokes”, while boys experienced more verbal and visual harassment such as
“homosexual jokes” and “unwanted sexual content”. The STEM field specifically was investigated in
McCormack, A. The sexual harassment of students by teachers: The case of students in science
(1985). Out of 1178 students surveyed 2% of men and 17% of women reported sexual harassment
by a teacher.

Sexual Harassment is prevalent in school settings, whether perpetrated by peers or teachers, from
high school level and up. In the study by McCormack, A. (1985) the research suggested that “…as
women continue their educations their chances of encountering sexual harassment from their
teachers are likely to increase.” The paper concludes that the cause of this increase is that the lines
are blurred between “sex roles” and “professional roles”. Very few studies suggest ways to lesson
occurrences of sexual harassment more effectively.

In regards to legislation the USA was a front runner. In the supreme court ruling of Davis v. Monroe
(1972) the school boards decided that sexual harassment (specifically student on student) is a
violation of their right to equal protection in school programs. In 1991 CARICOM developed model
legislation to protect individuals against sexual harassment, which also includes harassment in the
education system. However, in Dominica no official bills have been passed.

The literature review yielded high results in showing the prevalence and effects of sexual
harassment in the classroom setting, especially on high school level. Still there is significantly less
research on the prevalence of such occurrences at college level. Another significant deficit of the
research available is that there are very few projects conducted in the Caribbean and definitely not
in Dominica.