Gendered Violence in Schools

Nan Stein, Ed.D., wrote an article for the New York State Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence (OPDV) Winter 2011 Bulletin: Gendered Violence in Schools. Stein discusses the U.S. Department of Education’s “Dear Colleague” letter, which states that the terms “bullying” and “harassment” are not the same thing. The term bullying is vague, and is used to describe everything from meanness to sexual and physical assault, said Stein. Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination and is illegal, but schools can minimize their legal responsibility to students when they label sexual harassment as “roughhousing” or “bullying,” which can create an unsafe school environment.

Read the article.