Sexual Harassment Among High School Students

1.0 Abstract

Agyepong et al (2011) define sexual harassment as any unwelcomed behaviour or conduct characterised by physical or verbal harassment, as well as sexual advances. While most jurisdictions have illegalised sexual harassment, Birkett et al (2009) acknowledge that the laws do not prohibit minor comments and offhand incidents such as sexual looks that may offend the victim. But Chen & Wei (2011) asserts that most high school students encounter sexual harassment in verbal, psychological, and physical forms. Worryingly though, some students may not even recognize that they are being sexually harassed by their peers, neither are they aware of the existing laws prohibiting sexual harassment. Cheris-Teran & Hughes (2009) discussed that sexual harassment has several long-term effects among high school students. For instance, LGBQ students often experience various homophobic comments from their colleagues while boys have a tendency of sexually harassing girls. The proposed study seeks to evaluate the issue of sexual harassment among school students of age 16-18 years old. This age bracket is of particular interest of this study because according to Guber & Fineran (2016), they are capable of facing criminal sanction as a result of their actions. Besides, students of this age bracket have reported many cases of sexual harassment characterised by annoying sexual jokes and comments (Hullard et al, 2014).

2.0 Research Aim

To explore the prevalence of sexual harassment among high school students of age 16-18 years old

2.1 Research Objectives

1. To explore the different forms of sexual harassment experienced by high school students of age between 16-18 years old

2. To identify whether sexual harassment among high school students is limited to only one gender

3. To explore the effects of sexual harassment on high school students of age 18-16 years old

4. To identify strategies for reducing sexual harassment among high school students aged 16-18 years

2.2 Justification of the Study

The study will be of particular importance as it will help in discovering why various forms of sexual harassment that are common among students of age 16 to 18. Besides, it will be instrumental in developing policies that can help regulate or minimise sexual harassment among students by creating awareness about the negative effects of sexual harassment and preventive measures for the same. The study is also significant for the fact that many students do not recognize that even simple behaviours such as sexual comments and verbal flirting are forms of sexual harassment (Leaper et al, 2014). According to Rahimi & Liston (2011), high school students who experience sexual remarks, touching and other forms of sexual aggressiveness from their peers are psychologically tortured; therefore it is important to evaluate the relationship between sexual harassment and psychological torture in order to extrapolate remedies that can help protect the victims from the torture.

3.0 Literature Review

Various scholars with an interest in sexual harassment and its prevalence among high school students have made several academic enquiry and research to evaluate various aspects of the entire phenomenon. For instance, Yound et al (2009) were intrigued to understand the prevalence of sexual harassment among boys and girls, and the nature of opposite-sex sexual harassment outside and within the school. It was a cross-sectional study that used online platforms to conduct a self-administered survey. The survey included a sample of 1086 students, 54% of them being white while 45% of them being black. Worryingly, the study found an alarming prevalence of sexual harassment, 26% of the boys reporting that they have been sexually harassed, while 51% of the girls reporting the same. Besides, the study found that the respondents experienced most sexual harassment cases while at school compared to when outside the school compound. Drawing from the findings of this study, it emerges that sexual harassment at the high school level is alarming and that the act is experienced by both girls and boys. Similarly, this study is relevant in making the conclusion that school exists as the most likely place where high school students are to experience sexual harassment.

In 2013, Leaper et al launched a qualitative study to investigate the various strategies used by girls to cope with sexual harassment. Ideally, through questionnaires, the researchers asked girls to explain some of the strategies such as seeking help or confronting people who sexually harass them. After quantitatively analysing data from 304 participants, Leaper et al found that girls’ coping strategies were mostly influenced by their self-esteem, parents’ education level, perspective taking and feminist identity. Whereas this study did not directly focus on the prevalence and forms of sexual harassment among high school students, its results were especially important in concluding that sexual harassment is a common experience across the world and that there is a general lack of coping strategies among girls. More importantly, Leaper et al made a conclusion that when girls are sexually harassed, their self-esteem declines.

Researchers are increasingly gaining interest on the issue of sexual harassment among the LGBT groups. For instance, Hillard et al (2014) conducted a study to investigate how LGBT students’ perception of sexual harassment and bullying among students within the school environment. The study used a mixed methodology approach (i.e. qualitative and quantitative methodology) to collect data from students who were part of a Gay Alliance. According to the findings of this study, LGBQ students were more likely to experience sexual harassment than straight students. Hillard et al also evaluated some of the intervention methods employed by teachers to address issues of sexual harassment; and found that teachers mostly discouraged the offenders from the act.

The findings of Hillard et al are of important relevance to the proposed study for three main reasons. First, it implies that many students from the LGBQ community are sexually harassed and bullied by their peers. Secondly, it is clear that teachers may lack appropriate interventional methods to address sexual harassment against students from the minority communities, and lastly, it implies that compared to straight students, LGBQ students are more likely to experience sexual harassment. It is therefore of great importance to identify, through scientific research, how the LGBQ students can be protected from sexual harassment. In a more direct approach, Agyepon et al (2011) investigated the different types of sexual harassment experienced by female students from a public high school in Ghana. Through questionnaires, the study gathered qualitative data from 504 female students in order to evaluate the types, magnitude and word cases of sexual harassment perpetrated towards girls. Broadly, the study found verbal sexual harassment a the most common form of sexual harassment experienced by girls, while in terms of magnitude, it was found that the act of sexual harassment is widely practiced in Ghanaian senior high schools. Worryingly though, it was evident from the study findings that teachers led as the perpetrators of this act. The findings of this study are generative in understanding the idea that while teachers are expected to be responsible and protect students against sexual harassment among students, in some cases they are the perpetrators of sexual harassment against their students. It is therefore important to have a deeper enquiry, through scientific research, the role of teachers in preventing sexual harassment among students and whether they live up to this role. Taking a qualitative perspective, Rahimi & Liston (2010) conducted a study to investigate the perception of teachers on sexual harassment in regards to social class and race. Data was collected through interviews and upon analysing data through thematic analysis; the study found that teachers took sexual harassment as a discriminatory behaviour that was mostly demeaning to female students. However, Rahini and colleague were keen to notice that the perpetrators were less likely to be influenced by their social class or race to engage in the act. Nonetheless, the findings of this study give insight into the idea that girls sometimes believe that they are sexually harassed due to their race and gender. Besides, it can be drawn from this study that girls receive the highest encounters of sexual harassment compared to boys.

The availability or unavailability of adequate policies and regulations in school to protect students against sexual harassment determines the prevalence of sexual harassment among students. Against this backdrop, Chesir-Teran & Hughes (2009) launched a qualitative study to examine the relationship between heterosexism programs and policies in high schools and social environments; and sexual harassment among LGBQ students. According to the findings of the study, there was a moderate correlation between non-discrimination policies and the perception of harassment among the participants who comprised of 2037 LGBQ students. A possible implication of this finding is that non-discriminatory policies and regulation in schools and social environments performs a moderate role in dissuading students against sexual harassment against LGBQ students.

4.0 Qualitative Element to the Study

4.1 Method

Atkinson & Coffey (2002) argues that qualitative methods entail an in-depth evaluation and understanding of various concepts of the research phenomenon under investigation, by interlinking them to develop a meaningful solution to the research problem at hand. Hence, to identify the different forms of sexual harassment experienced by high school students of age 16-18 years, there needs to be an understanding of the concepts of sexual harassment while linking them to the various perceptions and attitudes of the students towards sexual harassment. For this reason, the proposed study takes a qualitative research method.

4.2 Sampling

The study will take an exploratory approach by issuing self-administered questionnaires to a convenient sample of 20 students in private, during free lessons at a selected high school in central London. Any students between the ages of 16-18 years will be eligible to participate regardless of their sexual orientation, race, social class or level of education. The questionnaires consisted of structured questions that will be answered by the respondents upon understanding each question. Ideally, items to be included in the questionnaire will be determined by both existing literature and the study objectives. The self-administered questionnaire will be administered to each respondent.

The questionnaire is considered the most appropriate data collection tool for the qualitative study due to the fact that it instils confidentiality into the entire data collection process. Apan et al (2012) argue that people may not be willing to share their sexual harassment experiences in face-to-face, especially because they may feel quite embarrassed by such experiences. Hence, because of the confidential nature of data we expect to collect, the study will only use physically administered questionnaires – considering that online questionnaires are susceptible to cybersecurity risks (Bloor & Wood, 2006).

The questions will first be proposed to the school head teacher to gain their inputs on how the questions can be improved; before finally presenting them to the respondents for actual data collection. Broadly, the key areas that will be addressed by the questions include:

• Various forms of sexual harassment experienced by the students

• How frequent they experience sexual harassment

• Any perceived gender differentials in sexual harassment

• The coping techniques and how they respond to sexual harassment

Qualitative data will be analysed through thematic analysis. In doing so, a codebook will be developed by the investigators for all open-ended questions regarding the effects of sexual harassment. The investigator will use the codebook to code all the questionnaire responses while any arising dispute will be solved by a second investigator. All the similar codes will be grouped into themes relating to the research objectives.

4.3 Research Approach

Broadly, there exist two major approaches to qualitative research i.e. deductive approach and inductive approach. According to Given (2008), deductive research approach entails the use of general information to determine a specific point, as well as the use of logical statements and hypotheses to test a theory. On the other hand, inductive approach moves in the opposite direction i.e. from specific knowledge to general conclusions and theories (Gisselle & Lotte, 2018). The inductive approach is based on the interpretive paradigm, which is qualitative in nature, and is mostly used by researchers to understand a particular population’s experience of a phenomenon within a specific context. Hendershott et al (2014) further add that the interpretive paradigm entails the use of research methods that yield a sustained contact with the respondents, thereby assisting in the comprehension of the phenomenon under investigation, from the respondent’s own perspective. The main aim of this study is to the prevalence of sexual harassment among high school students of age 16-18 years old and to understand the major forms of sexual harassment experienced by high school students in the age of 16-18 years old. Hence, the purpose is to understand the true nature of sexual harassment they experience as well as their views on the way they cope with sexual harassment. This forms the main basis for the use of qualitative methodology. According to Keegan (2009), the qualitative research approach gives the researcher a less structured approach to the study process, allowing the respondents to communicate their experiences, views, and perceptions about the phenomenon under investigation. Hence, within the qualitative context of the study, there will be a use of the inductive research approach, based on the interpretive research paradigm.

4.4 Ethical Considerations

Because the proposed study intends to use human subjects, there will be a range of ethical considerations made, to ensure that the participant’s integrity is maintained. For instance, the study will respect the confidentiality and anonymity of the respondents. Besides, the researcher will ensure that the respondents willingly participate in the study through informed consent. Adhering to these ethical guidelines will ensure the impartiality and independence of the study (Leavy, 2014).

5.0 The Quantitative Element to the Study

Majorly, the quantitative element of the proposed study will largely be evident during the analysis of data obtained from the questionnaires. In short, the data will be analysed through descriptive statistics, whereby a description of the basic information will be conducted. So, there will be a summary of the samples and measures through graphical analysis of quantitative data acquired from the respondents. Descriptive statistics will be used for the major reason that they enable an exact depiction of the data from the respondents, especially considering that the main aim of the proposed study is to identify the forms of sexual harassment experienced by high school students. Here, descriptive statistics will be used to understand the frequency with which some forms of sexual harassment occur, thereby making it simpler to understand the respondent’s experience of sexual harassment and its prevalence.

5.1 Sampling

The quantitative element will maintain the purposive sample of 20 participants used in the qualitative element, and the respondents fill in the questionnaires in private during free lessons at a selected high school in central London. Any students between the ages of 16-18 years will be eligible to participate regardless of their sexual orientation, race, social class or level of education. In short, all the sampling methodologies, as well as the ethical considerations applied in the qualitative element of the study will be maintained in the quantitative element, except for the data analysis techniques.

Tominic et al (2018) argue that in mixed research methods, researchers must make a good consideration of the timing of the qualitative and quantitative methods. This timing depends on the goals of each component and therefore the researcher can choose to use either a sequential or concurrent data collection technique. However, Leppink (2017) opines that the weight of each phase of data collection should be aligned to the primary logic of the mixed study. Hence, because the proposed study is primarily based on an exploratory or inductive logic, more emphasis will be put on its qualitative portion.

5.2 Analysis Technique

Due to the complexity involved in mixed methodologies, Anna Perez et al (2018) contend that researchers must ensure that the entire data analysis and interpretation process is well-planned. In doing so, the researcher can use either a sequential explanatory approach in data analysis or a sequential exploratory approach to integrating the quantitative and qualitative methods during data analysis (Hodis & Hancock, 2016). The former refers to an approach where there is a collection of quantitative data first, and the use of these results to inform the subsequent qualitative data. Contrariwise, according to Tominic et al (2018), the latter gives much emphasis on the qualitative data first, which is then employed to develop a testable hypothesis and new knowledge. The quantitative data is therefore only used to examine the phenomenon under investigation in more general terms (Leppink, 2017). Therefore, this study intends to use the sequential exploratory strategy to integrate the qualitative and quantitative data from the questionnaires, with more emphasis on the qualitative portion while maintain the quantitative approach to generalise the data. This is the essence of inductive logic. Ultimately, the research hypotheses to be tested quantitatively include:

H1: Verbal sexual harassment is the most common form of sexual harassment experienced by high school students of age 16-18 years.

H0: Verbal sexual harassment is not the most common form of sexual harassment experienced by high school students of age 16-18 years.

6.0 The Philosophical Underpinnings of Mixed Methods

Andrew & Halcomb (2006) defines mixed methods as an integration of both quantitative and qualitative research methods within a single study. Hence, it involves an interlinking of both qualitative and quantitative methods to give a more comprehensive account of the problem under investigation. Andrew & Halcomb (2009) agrees with this definition and adds further that the integration can occur at any stage of the study process and is a vital aspect that contributes to the rigour of the study. On the other hand, Andrew & Halcomb (2012) point out that where a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods is used in the same study, the study capitalises on the strengths of both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, thereby giving a comprehensive understanding of the research problem. As this happens, the researcher is able to ameliorate the weaknesses of both quantitative and qualitative approaches.

As opposed to a multi-method approach, which is only advantageous in the collection of data using a multiplicity of methods, mixed methods have several advantages due to the several characteristics of both qualitative and quantitative methods that occur within the entire research process; including the philosophical underpinnings of data collection, analysis, and interpretation.

Ideally, a philosophical underpinning, or a worldview, is the perception through which one sees a phenomenon (Andrew & Halcomb, 2006). Hence, Andrew & Halcomb (2012) identify several philosophical approaches that can be used to underpin mixed method research. However, the author cautions that before using any philosophical underpinning, it is important to explore and understand how the underpinnings fit with both the proposed study and their personal perceptions. First, a researcher can select a single philosophical underpinning to underpin the entire research. According to Andrew et al (2008), this could either be a critical realism approach, a transformative approach or a pragmatist approach. Broadly, the pragmatism approach entails the use of “what works” in seeking answers to the research questions. Therefore, pragmatism holds high regard for the research question, and therefore uses both subjective and objective information to answer the research question. Contrastingly, according to Bowers et al (2013), the transformative approach gives attention to and recognises injustices and cultural differences during the research process. In regards to critical realism, according to Bryman (2006), it is easier to understand realities by making an enquiry on multiple outlooks. Secondly, Creswell & Plano (2011) argues that researchers can use multiple philosophical approaches to underpin the various aspects of their study, based on the researcher’s intention to understand the social world. But, the use of this approach yields different oppositions and tensions that lead to the emergence of different ways of understanding the world (Felizer, 2010). Thirdly, a researcher can combine a multiplicity of philosophical approaches that relate to the mixed study design (Glogowska, 2011). For instance, the researcher can use a sequence of mixed methods which begin with interviews, followed by online surveys to obtain the naturalistic perspective of the data before moving to a positivist worldview through a quantitative design.

The main aim of the proposed study is to explore the various forms of sexual harassment experienced by high school students of age 16-18 years and to develop a deeper understanding and exploration of any existing gender differentials, its effects, and measures taken to protect the students against sexual harassment. Hence, the study intends to apply the critical realists’ philosophical underpinning in order to develop a deeper level of understanding and exploration of sexual harassment among high school students. This worldview is considered appropriate for the proposed study because it allows for an investigation of the problem through multiple outlooks i.e. qualitative and quantitative (Andrew et al, 2008).

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