Ignoring sexual harassment may not cause it to stop.Sexual harassment which is ignored often escalates
Sometimes people who are being harassed are afraid to say "stop!" They may fear the harassment is their fault, or that if they mention it to someone else they'll be laughed at, retaliated against, or shamed.
It is important for targets of sexual harassment to take some action in order to let the harasser know that his or her attention is unwanted and to alert other people - a friend, a school counselor, a trusted adult - to the problem.
Targets of sexual harassment need to know that their rights are being violated and that there are concrete steps that they can take to protect themselves.
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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
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