Citation

Allen M, Young EL, Ashbaker BY, Heaton E, Parkinson M. J. School Violence 2003; 2(4): 101-109.

Affiliation

Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602-5093

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1300/J202v02n04_06

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Sexual harassment is commonplace in schools, particularly among adolescents. Although information on this topic is typically gathered from students and teachers, this study collected information from school bus drivers. Based on feedback from 58 school bus drivers, 39 (67%) reported observing students making sexual comments or jokes. Almost half of the bus drivers reported observing students "mooning" and/or "flashing." Of the bus drivers observing sexual harassment, almost 80% intervened and confronted the students' inappropriate behavior. About half (46%) of the bus drivers reported incidents of sexual harassment to an authority figure in the school, most commonly a principal or assistant principal. Suggestions are offered to train school bus drivers to identify, intervene appropriately, and report incidents of sexual harassment.