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Gendered Violence: An Overlooked Aggression
by Mary Zimmerle
Violence in schools and among children is a growing problem in the United States. While schools tend to address the more overt aspects of school violence, such as weapons and physical fights, however, more covert, but damaging forms of violence are happening everyday in classrooms, hallways, cafeterias and playgrounds. This common, little discussed form of violence is known as sexual harassment.
As a gendered form of violence that strictly enforces restrictive norms of masculinity and femininity, sexual harassment can have severe or subtle effects on both girls and boys. Such exposure can negatively affect students' academic performance, self-esteem and sense of physical and psychological safety, as well as enforce harmful gender roles. With this type of harassment silently accepted, further acts of violence, from unwanted physical contact to rape are more likely to occur.
In "Gender Safety: A New Concept for Safer and More Equitable Schools", Nan Stein, et al, discuss this issue of gender violence, stating that "Nearly 80% of girls and 60% of boys report that they have been the victims of sexual harassment, which impacts them on multiple levels, including their educational experience (e.g., not wanting to go to school, having to change seats in class) and their feelings of self-worth and self-confidence. Even these high rates are likely an underreport of all who are potentially affected by harassment, in particular as the survey research to date has not incorporated how witnessing others being harassed may produce a diminished sense of safety. Sexual harassment is currently, and unfortunately, so pervasive and persistent that it has become a virtually normalized part of most girl's and boy's educational experiences" (Stein, et al 39-40).
While many forms of sexual harassment are often ignored by teachers and seen as normal behavior between adolescent and teenage girls and boys, this harassment usually has nothing to do with physical attraction and more to do with exerting power and control over someone else. Further, "Stein (1995) has argued that, in essence, boys receive 'training' and even silent encouragement to perpetrate harassment in the educational system by the lack of adult interruption of, or even response to, harassment, which functionally permits boys to engage in, and girls to accept, harassing behaviors" (Stein, et al 40).
These behaviors, which are starting at younger and younger ages, can have long-lasting and negative effects on targeted students and bystanders, generating a more insidious and harmful form of violence. Making schools safe in this manner requires transforming the school space into a welcoming place that has zero tolerance for intimidation of any sort, especially those forms that are based on sustaining disparate gender roles. In this way, girls and boys who are harassed or intimidated by others to conform to specific roles of femininity and masculinity will instead feel comfortable in their learning space. This comfort transforms the school environment into a space that is more conducive to learning.
Stein supports this need for safety measures, stating that "Gender safety means that both boys and girls have freedom to learn, explore and develop skills in all academic and extracurricular offerings, and to be psychologically, socially and physically safe from threats, harassment or harm in all parts of school (e.g., classrooms, hallways, school grounds" (Stein, et al 41-2). This safety must be ensured, just as other precautionary measures for physical safety are enforced.
So how does one address these deeply ingrained issues in the school or classroom? Start on a personal basis first, by establishing a no-tolerance policy for any type of sexual harassment in your classroom. Learn to recognize the subtler forms of harassment in addition to the more obvious forms and make sure that when sexual harassment occurs, you do not ignore it. Speak up against any form of teasing, whether aimed at girls or boys. Engage and empower your class to do the same by establishing student-made rules, posting them on the wall and making adherence to those rules mandatory.
In addition, teach the class that there are school rules against sexual harassment and that the offense is punishable. If your school is lax in enforcing those rules, urge your students to make the school and the offenders accountable. If there is no such policy, or the policy is vague, students, teachers and staff can all contribute to the development of a fully adequate policy that:
These simple actions can have rewarding effects once students begin to realize the gravity of the issue. To support such general values, curricula such as the award-winning Authentic Boys/Safer Girls: A Teacher's Guide to Helping Boys Break Free of Gender Stereotyping can help students, boys especially, develop an awareness of gender roles and how such roles can lead to violent behavior, whether psychological or physical. Men Can Stop Rape, and other similar programs, conduct awareness trainings and sponsor "Men of Strength" anti-violence clubs. These clubs recognize that men must take responsibility for their treatment of women and that by speaking up, they too can stop sexual harassment, abuse and violent crimes.
One of the better ways to introduce to students and adults how gendered violence is perpetuated through subtle and overt forms is through the Mentors in Violence Prevention's (MVP) "Pyramid of Abuse". Rob Blezard, in Teaching Tolerance writes that the " MVP identifies 12 levels in its 'Pyramid of Abuse,' with sexist jokes at the base and escalating in severity through demeaning language, objectification and stereotyping up to unwanted sexual advances and rape, with murder at the apex" (Blezard 27-8). The bottom of the pyramid represent those "more subtle forms of abuse [that] are widely tolerated but actually lay the foundation for rape and sexual assault." Students need to learn that language and words do hurt and threaten in a multiplicity of ways and can lead to even greater damage. These actions are ultimately unacceptable.
When students have begun to grasp the gravity of the issue of sexual harassment and gendered violence, they can begin to practice what they've learned with their fellow classmates and speak out about such violence in their school or classroom. These lessons, of course, should not exclusively address harassment by boys to girls, but should encompass a whole range of sexual harassment, including harassment of students because of their apparent or imagined sexual orientation and harassment by girls to boys.
Fully transforming a school environment so that it engenders respect and tolerance for others, especially in terms of gender roles, will take work and time, but the results will be priceless. Many negative gender roles are usually so ingrained in the thinking of students and adults alike that recognizing exactly how they can stimulate violent or negative behavior can be tricky. Start with some of the articles cited above and below for some summer reading. These should spark ideas for other ways to lead your students into a tolerant and respectful young adulthood.
Blezard, Rob. "It Takes a Man: The epidemic of rape won't end until males own up to its causes", Teaching Tolerance. No. 22, Fall 2002.
Frazier, Candace. "Unwelcome Advances: A Florida teenager finds school officials apathetic on sexual harassment", Teaching Tolerance. No. 23, Spring 2003.
(See Frazier's article for more information on developing a sexual harassment policy for your school.)
Stein, Nan, et al. "Gender Safety: A New Concept for Safer and More Equitable Schools", Journal of School Violence. Vol. 1, No. 2, 2002.
http://genesislight.com/jsv_folder/jsv1_2.pdf
Men Can Stop Rape
http://www.mencanstoprape.org/
Mentors in Violence Prevention
http://www.sportinsociety.org/mvp.html
Harassment-Free Hallways: How to Stop Sexual Harassment in School
From the American Association of University Women (AAUW)
http://www.aauw.org/ef/harass/pdf/completeguide.pdf
Authentic Boys/Safer Girls: A Teacher's Guide to Helping Boys Break Free of Gender Stereotyping can be ordered for $35 by email from haille6@rogers.com/.
If you don't receive Teaching Tolerance Magazine, visit http://www.teachingtolerance.org/ to subscribe. Educators receive the subscription for free!
As a gendered form of violence that strictly enforces restrictive norms of masculinity and femininity, sexual harassment can have severe or subtle effects on both girls and boys. Such exposure can negatively affect students' academic performance, self-esteem and sense of physical and psychological safety, as well as enforce harmful gender roles. With this type of harassment silently accepted, further acts of violence, from unwanted physical contact to rape are more likely to occur.
In "Gender Safety: A New Concept for Safer and More Equitable Schools", Nan Stein, et al, discuss this issue of gender violence, stating that "Nearly 80% of girls and 60% of boys report that they have been the victims of sexual harassment, which impacts them on multiple levels, including their educational experience (e.g., not wanting to go to school, having to change seats in class) and their feelings of self-worth and self-confidence. Even these high rates are likely an underreport of all who are potentially affected by harassment, in particular as the survey research to date has not incorporated how witnessing others being harassed may produce a diminished sense of safety. Sexual harassment is currently, and unfortunately, so pervasive and persistent that it has become a virtually normalized part of most girl's and boy's educational experiences" (Stein, et al 39-40).
While many forms of sexual harassment are often ignored by teachers and seen as normal behavior between adolescent and teenage girls and boys, this harassment usually has nothing to do with physical attraction and more to do with exerting power and control over someone else. Further, "Stein (1995) has argued that, in essence, boys receive 'training' and even silent encouragement to perpetrate harassment in the educational system by the lack of adult interruption of, or even response to, harassment, which functionally permits boys to engage in, and girls to accept, harassing behaviors" (Stein, et al 40).
These behaviors, which are starting at younger and younger ages, can have long-lasting and negative effects on targeted students and bystanders, generating a more insidious and harmful form of violence. Making schools safe in this manner requires transforming the school space into a welcoming place that has zero tolerance for intimidation of any sort, especially those forms that are based on sustaining disparate gender roles. In this way, girls and boys who are harassed or intimidated by others to conform to specific roles of femininity and masculinity will instead feel comfortable in their learning space. This comfort transforms the school environment into a space that is more conducive to learning.
Stein supports this need for safety measures, stating that "Gender safety means that both boys and girls have freedom to learn, explore and develop skills in all academic and extracurricular offerings, and to be psychologically, socially and physically safe from threats, harassment or harm in all parts of school (e.g., classrooms, hallways, school grounds" (Stein, et al 41-2). This safety must be ensured, just as other precautionary measures for physical safety are enforced.
So how does one address these deeply ingrained issues in the school or classroom? Start on a personal basis first, by establishing a no-tolerance policy for any type of sexual harassment in your classroom. Learn to recognize the subtler forms of harassment in addition to the more obvious forms and make sure that when sexual harassment occurs, you do not ignore it. Speak up against any form of teasing, whether aimed at girls or boys. Engage and empower your class to do the same by establishing student-made rules, posting them on the wall and making adherence to those rules mandatory.
In addition, teach the class that there are school rules against sexual harassment and that the offense is punishable. If your school is lax in enforcing those rules, urge your students to make the school and the offenders accountable. If there is no such policy, or the policy is vague, students, teachers and staff can all contribute to the development of a fully adequate policy that:
- “Demonstrate(s) the school’s commitment to prevent and deal with sexual harassment. “Educate(s) employees and students about the issue. “Set(s) forth the procedures and sanctions for dealing with instances of sexual harassment.
- “Encourage(s) persons to come forward with sexual harassment complaints” (Frazier 41).
These simple actions can have rewarding effects once students begin to realize the gravity of the issue. To support such general values, curricula such as the award-winning Authentic Boys/Safer Girls: A Teacher's Guide to Helping Boys Break Free of Gender Stereotyping can help students, boys especially, develop an awareness of gender roles and how such roles can lead to violent behavior, whether psychological or physical. Men Can Stop Rape, and other similar programs, conduct awareness trainings and sponsor "Men of Strength" anti-violence clubs. These clubs recognize that men must take responsibility for their treatment of women and that by speaking up, they too can stop sexual harassment, abuse and violent crimes.
One of the better ways to introduce to students and adults how gendered violence is perpetuated through subtle and overt forms is through the Mentors in Violence Prevention's (MVP) "Pyramid of Abuse". Rob Blezard, in Teaching Tolerance writes that the " MVP identifies 12 levels in its 'Pyramid of Abuse,' with sexist jokes at the base and escalating in severity through demeaning language, objectification and stereotyping up to unwanted sexual advances and rape, with murder at the apex" (Blezard 27-8). The bottom of the pyramid represent those "more subtle forms of abuse [that] are widely tolerated but actually lay the foundation for rape and sexual assault." Students need to learn that language and words do hurt and threaten in a multiplicity of ways and can lead to even greater damage. These actions are ultimately unacceptable.
When students have begun to grasp the gravity of the issue of sexual harassment and gendered violence, they can begin to practice what they've learned with their fellow classmates and speak out about such violence in their school or classroom. These lessons, of course, should not exclusively address harassment by boys to girls, but should encompass a whole range of sexual harassment, including harassment of students because of their apparent or imagined sexual orientation and harassment by girls to boys.
Fully transforming a school environment so that it engenders respect and tolerance for others, especially in terms of gender roles, will take work and time, but the results will be priceless. Many negative gender roles are usually so ingrained in the thinking of students and adults alike that recognizing exactly how they can stimulate violent or negative behavior can be tricky. Start with some of the articles cited above and below for some summer reading. These should spark ideas for other ways to lead your students into a tolerant and respectful young adulthood.
Blezard, Rob. "It Takes a Man: The epidemic of rape won't end until males own up to its causes", Teaching Tolerance. No. 22, Fall 2002.
Frazier, Candace. "Unwelcome Advances: A Florida teenager finds school officials apathetic on sexual harassment", Teaching Tolerance. No. 23, Spring 2003.
(See Frazier's article for more information on developing a sexual harassment policy for your school.)
Stein, Nan, et al. "Gender Safety: A New Concept for Safer and More Equitable Schools", Journal of School Violence. Vol. 1, No. 2, 2002.
http://genesislight.com/jsv_folder/jsv1_2.pdf
Men Can Stop Rape
http://www.mencanstoprape.org/
Mentors in Violence Prevention
http://www.sportinsociety.org/mvp.html
Harassment-Free Hallways: How to Stop Sexual Harassment in School
From the American Association of University Women (AAUW)
http://www.aauw.org/ef/harass/pdf/completeguide.pdf
Authentic Boys/Safer Girls: A Teacher's Guide to Helping Boys Break Free of Gender Stereotyping can be ordered for $35 by email from haille6@rogers.com/.
If you don't receive Teaching Tolerance Magazine, visit http://www.teachingtolerance.org/ to subscribe. Educators receive the subscription for free!
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