Citation

Haney C. Indiana journal of law and social equality 2020; 8(1): 89-112.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Indiana University, Mauer School of Law)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

BACKGROUND OF SEXUAL ASSAULT IN HIGH SCHOOLS At the outset, it is worth noting that accurate statistics about sexual assault can be difficult to acquire. There is reason to believe that sexual assault is an underreported crime,39 in part because of the stigma surrounding sexual assault and the survivor's fear of retaliation by the perpetrator. This stigma and fear often cause sexual assault victims to not report their experience.40 Furthermore, when sexual violence is reported, some incidents are categorized as physical violence or bullying instead of sexual assault, and these misclassified instances have an adverse impact on accurate data.41 There is also no public mandatory reporting of sexual assaults in high schools, and therefore, accurately tracking the number of sexual assaults that occur in high schools is difficult.42 Based on the statistics that have been reported, however, it is clear that sexual assault is prevalent among high school students. According to the Center for Disease Control ("CDC"), nearly 20% of women and 2.6% of men will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime.43 Of the female victims, approximately one-third will be first assaulted between the ages of eleven and seventeen.44 Examining high school sexual assault in particular, another study found that approximately half of high school girls and a quarter of high school boys had been sexually assaulted...

THE DIFFICULTY OF ADDRESSING SEXUAL ASSAULT IN HIGH SCHOOLS Sexual assault in high schools is a difficult problem to solve. Instances of sexual violence have been dismissed as hazing or bullying, and the overall response by school administrators has been inadequate. Additionally, there are distinctions between private and public schools, there are privacy concerns unique to minors, and there is long-standing social pressure and controversy surrounding sexual education...

POSSIBLE PREVENTIVE SOLUTIONS There are several possible preventive solutions which aim to lower the number of sexual assault victims. These solutions include mandatory consent education and information regarding sexual violence in high schools, better monitoring of those students who perpetrate sexual assaults, and mandated bystander intervention programs...

Language: en