Are we in the midst of a national epidemic of sexual harassment in the schools? That's what a recent report from the American Association of University Women (AAUW), with the ominous title "Hostile Hallways," says. The figures that the report presents are staggering. Four out of five students say they have been sexually harassed at or on their way to school, generally by other students. As you might expect, more girls report harassment than boys, but the numbers are surprisingly close: 85 percent of girls and 76 percent of boys. Clearly, whatever is going on is not limited to some schools in some localities. Are we to believe that school hallways all over the country look like a K-12 Tailhook Convention when classes are passing?
In fact, "Hostile Hallways" defines sexual harassment so broadly that it can be anything from being raped on the stairs to "unwelcome" words or gestures from someone you don't find attractive. Obviously, if a boy or girl is forced to kiss someone (that happened to 14 percent of those who reported being harassed) or forced to do "something sexual other than kissing" (that happened to 11 percent), it's harassment--it's also against the law. But a smile or compliment that you feel is sexual--and offensive--also counts as sexual harassment, even though you might welcome exactly the same thing from someone you like. And the glance/gesture/remark kind of harassment is by far the most frequently reported.
AAUW's survey says that this broadly defined sexual harassment creates a "hostile learning environment," but the evidence doesn't support this claim. Only one-third of the youngsters who said they had been harassed identified any academic effect. The most frequent response was "not wanting to go to school" (23 percent)--though only 16 percent actually stayed home. Given that many kids seize any excuse to cut school, this is hardly convincing evidence of great trauma.
Other effects most kids reported sounded like routine responses to an unpleasant incident or situation--like being embarrassed (50 percent) and feeling self-conscious (37 percent) and avoiding the other person ( 49 percent). No one enjoys feelings like these, but are they likely to "interfere" with a student's life? Most adolescents regularly suffer from them--for a variety of reasons--without being permanently scarred. And it's not just adolescents. Is there anyone who at some time has not had such feelings?
This is not to deny that a large number of students are being sexually harassed at or on the way to school. At least 26 percent of students report experiences that would fit in with any definition of harassment, however narrow. These kids are clearly victims, who deserve and need help. And it is not to say that a kid has to be physically assaulted before it is sexual harassment. Seventeen magazine (September 1992) carried a horrifying story about a young girl who was tormented for two years by obscene graffiti about her that kept appearing in the boys' room in her high school.
But what possible benefit is it to anyone to define sexual harassment so broadly that it includes most of the kids in a school--a girl who doesn't like the way a guy looked at her as well one who suffered several broken bones when she was attacked? It trivializes the injustice against boys and girls who have been greatly harmed. Instead of showing students the distinction between acts that are criminal and acts that are merely rude, the AAUW's definition of harassment levels that distinction. It's like saying that someone who uses offensive speech is guilty of the same crime as someone who firebombs a church. Schools should not be in the business of fostering this thoughtless use of language.
There's another problem, too. This attitude towards sexual harassment, which AAUW hopes schools will make into a code, is sending the wrong message to students about their rights and responsibilities. It teaches kids that they should never question their own motives, actions and perceptions--only the other person's. It encourages them to think that they have an absolute right never to be offended: There's no need to learn to handle themselves with all kinds of people, some of whom they are bound to find obnoxious; they can report anyone who offends them.
Is the AAUW getting students ready to support speech codes based on similar assumptions? Are they preparing kids to feel at home in our litigious society, where everybody is a victim and people sue each other at the drop of a hat? Sexual harassment is a serious crime, and it should be punished. But we will never be able to deal with it if we confuse-- and teach our kids to confuse--giving someone the eye, and rape.