Walking through Walls: the sexual harassment of high school girls

School Violence and the Adolescent Girl Learners’ Academic Progress in South African Schools

“…Sexual harassment as a form school violence against girl learners is covered widely in research as a form of gender violence in high schools (Corbett et al 1993;Larkin 1994;Leach and Sitaram 2007;Gruber and Fineran 2008;Rahimi and Liston 2009) and literature in this area mentions that this phenomenon needs further investigation.…”

“…Unwanted and unwarranted sexual talks can also be regarded as a form of sexual harassment and thus violence against girl learners if directed at them. According to Larkin (1994), female learners are often exposed to crude language and other forms of sexually harassing behaviour which has become part of the 'fabric of our daily lives'. Moreover, they are expected to compete on an equal footing with their violators and this expectation at times seems difficult to achieve.…”

A Feminist Reframing of Bullying and Harassment: Transforming schools through critical pedagogy

“…Forms of gendered harassment include (hetero)sexual harassment, homophobic harassment, and harassment for gender non-conformity (or transphobic harassment). I link these three forms of harassment because the impact of the harassers' behaviour is linked to norm-setting and policing the performance of traditional (heterosexual) gender roles (Larkin, 1994;Martino, 1995;Martino & Pallotta-Chiarolli, 2003;Renold, 2002;Smith & Smith, 1998;Stein, 1995). Although physical bullying is often the most obvious form addressed in schools, verbal bullying and harassment are also prevalent and often ignored, even though they have been found to be quite damaging to students as well.…”

“…Sexual harassment in schools has been the subject of research and public discourse since the early 1990's (Corbett, Gentry, & Pearson, 1993;Larkin, 1994;Louis Harris & Associates, 1993;Stein, 1992). In spite of this, it is still prevalent.…”

“…The pressure to participate in these oppressive practices works in multiple ways to assert the power of hegemonic masculinity: it engages additional participants in the sexual harassment of females and labels those who choose not to participate as gay. This pressure to conform to ideals of Sexual harassment in schools has been the subject of research and public discourse since the early 1990's (Corbett, Gentry, & Pearson, 1993;Larkin, 1994;Louis Harris & Associates, 1993;Stein, 1992). In spite of this, it is still prevalent.…”