Sexual harassment, sex abuse, and grooming claims against schools

School abuse cases have increasingly included allegations of sexual harassment, sexual abuse, revenge porn, hazing, blackmail, and grooming. According to the National Bully Prevention Center, one out of every five students report bullying. More startling were the statistics of sexual misconduct in schools, as various studies show roughly 80% of all students (83% of girls and 78% of boys) have been sexually harassed at school.These are not recent statistics; the studies go back decades, which means this behavior has been happening in schools all along.
This complex and distressing phenomenon raises critical legal questions, particularly concerning the responsibilities of educational institutions in preventing and addressing such misconduct. We must also address how to respond when our schools fail our children. Understanding the nature of these claims, the responses required from schools, and the potential legal avenue for victims is paramount in ensuring justice and safeguarding students' well-being.

Schools often react as if they are paralyzed when faced with claims of sexual harassment, sexual bullying, revenge porn, and the like when it is occurring on their campuses. They often miss the warning signs of a teacher grooming a victim. The problems can even become more complex if the child victim has a disability such as autism or other intellectual disability. These disabilities often prevent the student from being the best historian or communicator of the harm they have suffered. In fact, autistic youth are far more likely to experience sexual victimization than their neurotypical counterparts. Grace Trundle, Katy A. Jones, Danielle Ropar, and Vincent Egan, "Prevalence of Victimization in Autistic Individuals: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis." Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 2022, Safe Journals, https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380221093689. Moreover, students fear retaliation or are ashamed of what happened to them. Kids often blame themselves for what happened.

What do sex harassment & abuse claims look like against a school?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately one in five women in the United States have experienced rape or attempted rape in their lifetime. As for children, the U.S. Department of Education has estimated that one in ten children experience some sexual misconduct by school employees. Ryan C. W. Hall, M.D., and Richard C. W. Hall, M.D., P.A., "A Profile of Pedophilia: Definition, Characteristics of Offenders, Recidivism, Treatment Outcomes, and Forensic Issues," Psychiatry Online, 2009, https://focus.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/foc.7.4.foc522 This is alarming, but I would argue the number is far greater. The most common forms of sexual abuse include rape, fondling and other inappropriate touching, sodomy, penetration with a finger or an object, kissing, or other sexual contact not amounting to forceable rape. It can also be showing a child sexual material, either exposing oneself in front of a child, or asking the child to do so. It can also be taking or asking for sexual photos. Grooming conduct is often a precursor to the child getting sexually assaulted. Grooming is when the abuser begins to prepare the child for the abuse. This starts innocently, with just attention. It will lead to extraordinary attention, gifts, and favors. This can include behavior where the abuser will showcase favoritism, give compliments, award special privileges, or spend time alone together. Mary Jane Epling, "Grooming In Schools: A Stealthy Indicator of Abuse," The Daily Independent, 2023. Moreover, studies indicate that a significant portion of sexual violence occurs during adolescence, with many incidents going unreported.

The legal liability issues are important because these institutions can be held responsible if the abuse occurred on school grounds, was facilitated by educators, or if the school knew about the behavior and did nothing. Throughout my career, I've sat with countless students who told teachers, administrators, principals, and other school officials of the abuse, only to see their literal cries fall on deaf ears.

Boys will be boys is no longer an acceptable narrative (not that it ever was). However, schools often do not want to get involved in something they believe to be a dispute over teen relationships. This can result in allowing significant issues related to sexual assault and harassment to explode under their watch.