If a girl says she is being sexually harassed and the boy says he is only fooling, it IS sexual harassment.Sexual harassment is defined from the target's perspective, not the harasser's.
Consensus between the target and perpetrator is unnecessary in determining the nature of a behavior. All legal definitions of sexual harassment build in personal, subjective components.
If you do not want or welcome attention which is of a sexual nature, and if this attention is interfering with your ability to do your school work, you are being sexually harassed.
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Excerpted by permission from: Flirting or Hurting? A Teacher's Guide on Student-to-Student Sexual Harassment in Schools (grades 6 through 12) by Nan Stein and Lisa Sjostrom
Return to Flirting or Hurting Page
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