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There were two or three boys touching me and Id
tell them to stop but they wouldnt... I was in
one of my classes when all of them backed me into
a corner and started touching me all over I told
the principal, and he and the boys had a little
talk. And after the talk was up, the boys came
out laughing because they got no punishment.-
Mexican American girl, age 12, in Secrets in
Public Sexual Harassment in Our Schools
(Wellesley Center for Research on Women, 1993)
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From Hostile Hallways to Harassment-Free
Hallways How to Stop Sexual Harassment in School

• American Association of University Women (AAUW)
  Educational Foundation
• 1111 Sixteenth Street, NW
• Washington, DC 20036
• www.aauw.org

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• Hostile Hallways (2001) exposed an alarming
  paradox. Students today are more aware of sexual
  harassment policies than they were in 1993 when
  the AAUW Educational Foundation conducted the
  first Hostile Hallways survey but sexual
  harassment remains a serious problem in our
  schools.

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Hostile Hallways Disturbing Statistics

• Seven in 10 students (69) in 2001 said their
  schools have a sexual harassment policy, compared
  to less than 3 in 10 (26) in 1993.
• In 2001, as in 1993, four out of five students
  boys and girls said they had experienced sexual
  harassment at school.
• Clearly, awareness of policies has not
  resulted in lower rates of harassment.

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Hostile Hallways Disturbing Statistics

• 81 of students will experience some form of
  sexual harassment during their school lives, with
  27 experiencing it often.
• 85 of students report that students harass other
  students at their schools.
• 40 of students report that teachers and other
  school employees sexually harass students in
  their schools.

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I am gay and was made fun of so much that I got
sick of being in school. I was beaten up all
during my time in school and the fights and
threats started when I was pretty young.
(Student, Creating Safe Schools for Lesbian and
Gay Students A Resource Guide for School Staff,
Youth Pride Inc, 1997)No child should have to
go through this, whether hes gay or not. When
harassment gets to the point where a kid wants
to quit school, something has to be done.
(Parent, Ed Week, June 6, 2001)
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AAUW Educational Foundation Takes Action

• In response to these disturbing findings, the
  AAUW Educational Foundation convened a national
  task force to develop a user-friendly resource
  guide to help schools, school districts, parents,
  and students assess sexual harassment policies
  and create a safe school environment.

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AAUW Sexual Harassment Task Force

• The task force was convened with initial support
  from 3M, First USA, the National Education
  Association, and the AAUW Educational Foundation.
  
• The group included educational leaders,
  researchers, and school climate experts from
  across the country.

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Sexual Harassment Task Force Members

• Julie Arrighetti, Information Specialist,
  National School Boards Association (VA)
• Andrea Bell, Associate Legal Counsel, National
  Association of Secondary School Principals (VA)
• Gaye Barker, Senior Professional Associate,
  National Education Association (DC)
• M.K. Cullen, Policy Director, Gay, Lesbian,
  Straight Education Network (DC)
• Jackie DeFazio (Chair), principal (retired),
  past AAUW President (WA)
• Nancy Gruver, founder and publisher, New Moon
  Publishing (MN)
• Melissa Pelayo, student member of Girls
  Editorial Board
• Ruthie Young, student member of Girls Editorial
  Board
• Marsha Guenzler-Stevens, Director of Activities,
  University of Maryland (MD)
• Marta Larson, Field Service Specialist, Wisconsin
  Programs for Educational Opportunity (WI)
• Jocelyn Samuels, VP for Educational Programs,
  National Women's Law Center (DC)
• Nan Stein, Senior Researcher, Wellesley Centers
  for Research on Women (MA)

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Harassment-Free Hallways How to Stop Sexual
Harassment in Schools

• Harassment-Free Hallways, a guide for
  students, parents, and educators, was posted on
  AAUWs website August 20, 2002. The guide has
  been updated in 2004.

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Harassment-Free Hallways How to Stop Sexual
Harassment in Schools

• The guide features
• Targeted checklists and surveys
• Practical strategies to help prevent harassment
• Examples of model policies and prevention
  programs
• Separate downloadable sections specifically
  geared to various audiences
• A survey, resource list, and safety plan for
  students
• An extensive list of resources

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NEA Bullying Awareness Campaign

• AAUW has also established a partnership with
  the National Educational Association (NEA) to
  support the NEA Bullying Awareness Campaign.
• Through this partnership, NEA provides AAUW
  members around the country with training on how
  to confront and tackle the problem of bullying
  and sexual harassment.

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• To help those who believe that harassment
  happens only in other schools, survey your own
  students. The results will personalize the
  problem and show that harassment is indeed a
  problem at home one that needs to be
  addressed. (Jackie DeFazio, retired high
  school principal, sexual harassment task force
  chair)

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How Can You Create Harassment-Free Hallways?

• Compare your school or school districts sexual
  harassment policy with the model policies in the
  Harassment-Free Hallways guide.

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How Can You Create Harassment-Free Hallways?

• Conduct or help coordinate an in-service workshop
  for teachers, counselors, and school staff. Lead
  them through the Survey for Staff, Parents, or
  Students Is Harassment a Problem in Your
  School? and follow up with a roundtable
  discussion of strategies to address sexual
  harassment in your school.

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How Can You Create Harassment-Free Hallways?

• Encourage teachers to survey their students and
  provide opportunities in class to discuss sexual
  harassment and share strategies and resources.
  Guide teachers to the Best Practices section of
  the guide and urge them to think about ways
  faculty and students can help prevent sexual
  harassment.

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How Can You Create Harassment-Free Hallways?

• Distribute special resource guide bookmarks to
  students, school staff, and parents in your
  community.

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Contact AAUW to

• Order the Harassment-Free Hallways package for
  free at www.aauw.org/k-12, including
• Harassment-Free Hallways How to Stop Sexual
  Harassment in Schoolan action guide for
  students, parents, and schools
• Hostile Hallways Bullying, Teasing, and
  Sexual Harassment in Schoolan AAUW Educational
  Foundation research report
• Bookmarks to distribute about the guide.

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Call to Action Creating Harassment-Free Hallways

• Our research has shown that policies alone are
  not enough to halt school-based harassment.
  Everyone involved in educating and caring for
  children must step up to the challenge of making
  our schools safe places for students. We hope you
  will join us in our efforts to make schools
  harassment-free.

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