Harassment in educational settings can take many forms, including verbal, physical, and visual assaults. It often involves unwanted sexual advances, suggestive comments, jokes, gestures, touching, stalking, and even rape or attempted rape. Harassers may be students, teachers, administrators, or staff members. Victims experience emotional distress such as anxiety, depression, fear, shame, guilt, anger, and low self-esteem. They may avoid certain classes or activities to escape harassment, which impacts their academic performance. This essay discusses how harassment affects student learning outcomes and what schools should do to prevent it.
Students who face harassment are more likely to miss school, drop out, or fail courses than those who don't. They may have difficulty concentrating on tasks due to trauma symptoms like hypervigilance, dissociation, flashbacks, intrusive thoughts, insomnia, nightmares, and panic attacks. Their grades suffer because they cannot retain information, process instructions, meet deadlines, attend lectures, and participate in class discussions. The National Sexual Violence Resource Center reports that one in five college women is sexually assaulted during her academic career, while one in ten men is victimized. Harassment makes victims less motivated to learn and perform well academically.
To prevent harassment, schools must create policies prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation, age, ability, and socioeconomic status. Schools should train staff and faculty to identify signs of abuse and report incidents immediately. Students should receive education about consent and healthy relationships from early childhood through adulthood. Teachers should model respectful behavior towards students and each other. Schools should provide support services for victims, including counseling, legal advice, medical care, housing assistance, and employment opportunities. These measures can help reduce the negative effects of harassment on academic performance.
How does harassment in educational settings impact academic performance?
Harassment can have various adverse effects on students' academic performances. It is a stressful experience that may hinder their concentration and motivation, leading to poor grades. In addition, victims of bullying may feel depressed, anxious, and isolated, which also affects their learning outcomes. They are likely to miss classes, skip homework assignments, or perform worse than usual, causing them to fall behind academically.