Sexual Harassment, Peer-to-Peer

Complaints from students regarding sexual harassment from peers are not only common but are on the increase. What was once treated as innocent teasing or behavior that was typically described as “boys will be boys” is now often viewed as offensive, provocative conduct unacceptable at school. These acts of harassment occur on school grounds, at extracurricular events, and on school buses. The increase in reported peer-to-peer sexual harassment may be due to a combination of the increased awareness of sexuality by students, societal acceptance of reporting sexually inappropriate behavior, and an increase in sexually aggressive acts by students.

Much of the peer-to-peer sexual harassment involves bullying types of behavior. Females are often the victims of sexual bullying in the forms of inappropriate or suggestive comments, graphic graffiti in school halls or bathroom walls, and overt acts of touching or groping. Moreover, there appears to be a rapid increase of same-sex sexual harassment. Insofar as society has become more tolerant and accepting of students who are openly gay or lesbian, school officials have witnessed increases in bullying, hate, and sexually harassing behaviors directed at these students. There is evidence that, left unchecked, sexually harassing behaviors, regardless of the sexual orientations or genders of the students involved, will continue.

Sexually harassing behavior has also invaded elementary schools. Students as young as five years old have engaged in verbal and physical abuse of a sexual nature. Although newsworthy sex-related incidents, such as an innocent kiss leading to extreme discipline, have gained wide media attention, far too common aggressive sexual acts by preteens have been disregarded as childish naivete.

In light of judicial developments, school boards may be held liable for peer-to-peer sexual harassment pursuant to Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972. In Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education (1999), a female student complained about sexually harassing behavior from a fellow male student. The parents, on behalf of their fifth-grade daughter, sued the school board under Title IX for failure to stop the classmate's sexually harassing behavior. After a federal trial court in Georgia and the Eleventh Circuit rejected the claims, the Supreme Court reversed in favor of the student and her parents and remanded for further consideration in light of analysis. In its only case involving peer-to-peer sexual harassment, the Court ruled that while school boards that receive federal financial assistance may not be liable for the conduct of the students, they may be accountable when school officials fail to prevent inappropriate student conduct. More specifically, the Court determined that school boards

At the same time, the Court added that a board can be liable for damages when officials have “substantial control over both the harasser and the context in which the known harassment occurs” (p. 646).

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