Study to examine sexual harassment of students by teachers

Dr Kate Dawson of the School of Psychology at NUI Galway said: "To date, sexual harassment in secondary schools has been measured predominantly in terms of peer-peer harassment, mostly failing to acknowledge school staff as potential perpetrators of student sexual harassment."

People who have experienced sexual harassment by a teacher are being asked to participate in a new study which researchers said is the first of its kind outside of the United States of America.

The Active Consent Programme in NUI Galway is spearheading the new survey on the prevalence of teacher-student harassment, with lead researcher, Dr Kate Dawson, claiming there may be a discrepancy between the number of teachers disciplined for sexual harassment, and the number of students alleging they have experienced harassment from a teacher.

Dr Dawson of the School of Psychology at NUI Galway said: "To date, sexual harassment in secondary schools has been measured predominantly in terms of peer-peer harassment, mostly failing to acknowledge school staff as potential perpetrators of student sexual harassment.

"We know that inappropriate relationships happen between teachers and students. Media highlight several cases of teacher-student abuse, most of which fit the classic victim-perpetrator model of sexual violence. Such overt abuses of power may be easier to identify; however, more discrete incidents of sexually inappropriate comments and behaviour are more difficult to pinpoint and indeed are less likely to be brought to public attention.

There are very few studies that explore the phenomenon of teacher-student sexual harassment, but early studies reveal a discrepancy between the number of teachers disciplined for sexual harassment of a student and the number of students who report experiencing sexual harassment by a teacher.

The issue of sexual harassment at third level has come under increased focus in recent years, including through the work of the Active Consent Programme in NUI Galway and the Bystander Programme in University College Cork.

Now the focus will switch to second level, although Dr Dawson said because of ethical concerns related to asking students to disclose incidents of harassment, while potentially still studying at school and possibly without the necessary systems to support the student, the study will focus on retrospective accounts by adults aged 18 and over of teacher-student sexual harassment.

According to Dr Dawson: "This is the first study of its kind to assess the prevalence of teacher-student harassment and its predictors outside of the US high school system and, therefore, will provide essential insights into this phenomenon in a European context.

"Only when we know the extent of certain issues can we begin to address them."

Anyone who can recall experiencing inappropriate sexual comments or behaviour during their time in secondary school in Ireland can complete the anonymous survey online.