Ellaine D.

Daprosa

BSED 2A

Sexual Harassment at School

 Introduction
- Purpose of the Study
 Background Information
- Data Collection
 Proposed Solutions
- Analysis and Interpretation
 Recommendation

Introduction

Sexual harassment has been identified as a major public health problem that is hidden in most
institutions/organizations.

Sexual harassment refers to as persistent, unsolicited and unwelcomed sexual advances which
could be visual, physical, verbal and non-verbal gestures. It has been identified as one of the
major stressors that constitute a threat to the performance of an individual in organisations or
academic institutions. Catharine MacKinnon viewed sexual harassment of learners as a form of
women abuse and invented the term 'sexual harassment'

Sexual harassment perpetrator could be a colleague, supervisor, management personnel and/or

student. The perpetrator and victim may be of the same gender. However, in most incidents, men
had been found to be perpetrators either in the learning institutions or work places. It has been
documented that most victims of sexual harassment show cognitive, behavioural, emotional, and
physical symptoms following harassment that may persist long after the harassment has ended
and even change the course of their lifestyles. Families, communities and society at large are not
excluded from the adverse consequences of sexual harassment.

It is important to determine the prevalence of sexual harassment in every institution so as to

develop strategies that will help in prevention and reduction of its occurrence. Therefore, this
study aimed to determine sexual harassment occurrence and victimization of students in one of
the biggest higher education institutions in the Philippines.

Background Information

Save the Children Philippines urges all public and private schools to act on the mounting
complaints of sexual harassment and other forms of abuse and violence reportedly committed by
faculty and school personnel against their students.

While some instances of sexual assault clearly go unreported, the AP found 17,000 official

reports of sexual assaults at schools from the school years beginning in 2011 and ending in 2015.
Some of the assaults that happen at schools are caused by teachers or staff, but roughly 20% of
educators also suffer sexual harassment or assaults.

A student from FEU, Maria’s story.

"He doesn't deserve to teach if he can't even do or respect the ethics of being a teacher," Maria
said. Kristine, who was then 17, became friends with Mr. Reyes after the latter assisted her in
school activities but what started as a casual conversation turned into something inappropriate.
She narrated that she was harassed, manipulated, gaslighted and was taken advantage of by him
and his co-teachers from the HUMMS department.

AFTER sexual harassment allegations went viral on social media, more students from the Far
Eastern University came forward and accused teachers of sexually abusing them. Under the
hashtags #FEUSHSDoBetter and #FEUHSBeAccountable, complainants urged the school
administration to take action against the teachers involved in the issue. More alleged victims
surfaced and bared their ordeal after the issue trended online. Some students posted screen shots
of alleged inappropriate private messages of teachers to students and stories of faculty members’
supposed attempts to have relationships with minors.

Proposed Solution

If you think your child is experiencing sexual harassment at school, you should first ask them for
information. Ask if your child has told any authority figure and what that figure did or said.
Hand the principal a written report of everything that has happened, including what the particular
faculty member did or did not do. Close the report with a demand for prompt and corrective
action.

There are several Philippine laws that protect people, especially students against unwanted
sexual advances.

The Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995 defines sexual harassment as demands or requests for
sexual favors by a person in authority in the workplace, school, or training environment.
The Safe Spaces Act of 2018 expands the definition to include perpetrators who aren’t
necessarily persons of authority. The law also covers acts that may not be overtly sexual but are
suggestive or have sexual undertones. The sexual advances may also result in intimidation, or a
hostile or offensive nature to a student, trainee or apprentice.

In a study conducted by Daniel Pollack entitled “Understanding Sexual Grooming in Child

Abuse Cases,” it said that grooming is a method used by offenders that involves building trust
with a child in an effort to gain access to and time alone with him/her.

“The offender may assume a caring role, befriend the child or even exploit their position of trust
and authority to groom the child and/or the child’s family. These individuals intentionally build
relationships with the adults around a child or seek out a child who is less supervised by adults in
her/his life. This increases the likelihood that the offender’s time with the child is welcomed and
encouraged,” Pollack explained.

Other behaviors predators may use during the grooming process are activities that can be
sexually arousing to adults who have a sexual interest in children.

“With each victim who is groomed and sexually abused, we question how it could have
happened, how signs leading up the abuse were missed. Knowledge, training, and awareness are
our best weapons, and our best chance to prevent abuse before it occurs,” he said.

Recommendation

I knew that sexual harassment was a problem in the everyday world but I didn’t realize how
neglected the problem is. In the time-period we live in now, many previously serious crimes are
becoming and less and less important.  Sexual harassment especially is becoming less important. 
A sexual harassment offender hardly gets any penalty anymore. The lack of punishment here
gives the impression that this sexual harassment is okay.  What some might not realize is that the
belief that this is okay can lead to much worse things such as rape. Needless to say consequences
for these “lapses in judgment” are a necessity.  Harassment and rape cannot be taken lightly, they
are serious crimes and need to be treated as such.

Schools must stop ignoring “adolescent behavior” and do their part to eradicate unacceptable talk
and actions. Make the elimination of sexual harassment a top priority. Empower teachers to take
a stand against inappropriate name-calling and sexual comments. Talk about the problem, hold in
services, and bring in guest speakers. Elicit staff participation in developing and implementing a
plan to educate themselves, the students, and the parents.

In many cases, parents will need to be educated about sexual harassment and its harmful effects
in order to help them identify harassment and respond appropriately. When harassment occurs,
parents must be informed of the details so that the emotional and developmental needs of both
parties can be addressed. Family involvement and possibly outside counseling may be needed to
avoid long-term emotional damage and to modify inappropriate behavior.

Reference: FEU SEXUAL HARASSMENT CASES - The POST