This paper highlights legal understanding of quid pro quo sexual harassment in schools. Quid pro quo sexual harassment implies abuse of authority or position to gain something sexual. A duty of care rests on teachers, Schools Governing Bodies and the Department of Education to provide and maintain safe schools that are free from all forms of…

A case involving the harassment of a female college writing instructor by an older, male student serves as a model to provide a framework for dealing with similar problems in the future. This case moved from initial acts of challenging authority in the classroom and monopolizing office hours to the bizarre: obscene phone calls, mysterious mail,…

Although research on acquaintance, or date rape, dates back to the late 1950's, only recently has the literature in this area focused on prevention. In addition, although research has shown that, conservatively, 1 out of 10 women on university campuses has been raped by someone with whom she is familiar, little appears to have been done about the…

Keeping children safe becomes a more complicated concern when many of the offenders are not adults, but other children. Data from the justice system reveals that juveniles account for about 20% of all forcible rapes and about 50% of child sexual abuse. Contrary to the media's depiction, the majority come from two-parent homes, have no prior…

Sexual harassment complaints are challenges to the abuse of power in certain kinds of communicative relationships, and sexual harassment policies and procedures are ways of defining the responsible exercise of power and providing the means to address grievances that result from irresponsible and potentially harmful uses of power in those…

This paper sets out the legal grounds for sexual harassment claims in education settings, and notes a number of pertinent cases that are illustrative of common legal and factual issues. Sexual harassment, including sexual abuse, is prohibited by federal and state statutes. Sexual harassment in the context of employment constitutes employment…

Teachers have a special trust with students that includes not taking advantage of or abusing them. To ensure that sexual abuse is handled correctly in the school system, a policy must be adopted that requires employees to report incidences of abuse and make sure that the reporting requirement is balanced against the accused individual's rights.…

Peer-to-peer sexual harassment is rampant in elementary and secondary schools. While sometimes identified and curtailed, it is usually tolerated and characterized as normal. Regardless of the ways school authorities regard sexual harassment, it interferes with a student's right to receive equal educational opportunities and violates Title IX. This…

This article defines psychological abuse of students in school settings and describes legal aspects of the problem, particularly with respect to possible action in negligence. The following four categories of psychological abuse are examined: verbal abuse, refusal to communicate, physical acts (and sexual abuse) that cause psychological damage,…