A recent survey conducted by the American Association of University of Women concluded that 48% of surveyed middle and high school students said that they were sexually harassed during the 2010-2011 school year. 56% of girls and 40% of boys, grades 7-12 claimed to experience some type of sexual harassment either physically, verbally, or electronically.
These numbers are extremely disturbing and speak volumes pertaining to a myriad of social, gender, and moral deficiencies among today’s youth. When did it get this pervasive? With almost half of the surveyed students claiming to be victims of sexual harassment, it’s clear that this problem is not obscure but it is embedded in to the fabric of their everyday lives.
With so much media attention about sexual misconduct right now (Herman Cain, the Penn State scandal, etc.), now is a great opportunity to express with them the severity of unwanted sexual actions toward another person.
Here are three things you can discuss with your children about sexual harassment:
1.Sexual harassment is not funny:
A third of the students that were surveyed answered that they were targets of unwelcomed comments or jokes. Our children need to understand that making crude remarks is not funny but that it is considered harassment and could get them in to trouble.
2.Talk to your children about respecting themselves as well as others:
Having self respect for yourself also means not letting people degrade you in any manner. Half of surveyed students either ignored the harassment or didn’t report it to a person of authority.
3.Help your son or daughter create a standard for relationship etiquette:
We know that as our kids grow they’ll begin to develop feelings for the opposite sex and that they want to go past just being friends. If they’re starting to flirt and court a relationship partner, sit down with them and help them to lay a foundation of good conduct and practices that they can implement in order to give the person that they’re attracted to the utmost respect. If their advances are not welcomed they should accept it and move on and not become aggressive, bitter, or depressed. Also, if they have a standard of relationship etiquette and the person that is interested in them is not meeting those standards they can have a general discernment as to if that person is right for them.
What are you, or will you, teach your kids about this negative behavior?