Youth Challenge

Unit 4: Tackling Sexual Harassment in Your School

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Resource Sheet: A Message from Elizabeth Broderick - Sex Discrimination Commissioner

Sexual harassment happens a lot in the community – mainly against women, but sometimes against men.

Sexual harassment happens in the workplace. It happens in schools. It might have happened to you.

Just like bullying, sexual harassment is about people using their power to intimidate or humiliate someone else. Sexual harassment isn’t ‘just joking’. Its effects can be profound – it can damage a person’s confidence and self-esteem and significantly affect the choices they make, like leaving school.

This unit has been developed by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission to help teachers and young people address issues of sexual harassment in the school.

We want you to take a good look at what goes on around you, and how your school deals with the issue.

You may find that there is little or no sexual harassment among students. You may find that it exists, but the school deals with it effectively. Each of these would be an encouraging finding. But even if you discover that your school is a safe and equitable place, you can still benefit from exploring the issue and taking the knowledge and understanding gained into other areas of your community.

If there are problems in the school, then this program will help you address them. It is a valuable way of helping students to understand their rights and responsibilities and to help them build strong relationships based on respect.

Elizabeth Broderick
Sex Discrimination Commissioner

Discuss the issue of sexual harassment with your classmates. Focus your comments on the following issues:

• What is sexual harassment?
• Why do some people behave in this way?
• Why is it a problem?
• How can it be addressed?

After you have completed your discussion, work in small groups to summarise the information you have discovered.

Make some notes about your conclusions for future reference below.

This document is also available for download in Word and PDF formats.