Our sexual harassment initiatives are long-term avenues for sexual harassment prevention, as they focus on implementing sexual harassment education programs in schools, in addition to advocating for much-needed reform of Title IX offices.
At the collegiate level, sexual harassment prevention has a long way to go. For instance, in the United States, Title IX Coordinators and offices often fall short of supporting survivors. However, at a K-12 level, sexual harassment is discussed much less, education regarding it is scant, and often school staff are not trained properly. Our initiatives work to inform students of their rights concerning sexual harassment, help students locate resources, work with schools to improve Title IX responses for survivors of sexual harassment, and reform Title IX offices across schools.
Students should be informed of who their contact is if they have been sexually harassed while at school, and that contact should be capable of providing informed advice, and accommodating the mental health support survivors of sexual harassment and/or assault may need. We are fighting to make sure that schools actualize these needs students have. Our directives for sexual harassment initiatives center around teaching consent, informing students of their rights under Title IX, and increasing mental health support for survivors of sexual harassment and/or assault.
We currently have several initiatives across Florida, Georgia, and Texas working for Title IX reform and institutional support for student survivors.
Fighting Sexual Harassment
Here at the Ruth Project, we believe that education is a central part of fighting sexual harassment. In particular, consent should be taught to students in schools long before they graduate. Sexual harassment and assault is a pervasive issue, often hard to keep track of due to its nature.
When engaging in survivor advocacy, we always recommend:
1. Make sure your advocacy is survivor-based. Be empathetic, listen, but most of all, make sure that survivors are leading, or included in your advocacy.
2. Understand who the decision makers are. Usually, your Title IX coordinator or a student services director will have a great deal of power in meeting your demands.
3. Before engaging in advocacy, make sure that you are well-educated on what Title IX is, and how it is serving students at your school. Talk to people you know: have they ever accessed Title IX services, do they know where to find them, and what other information have they gotten or have not gotten. If you can access how much students know about Title IX, this can indicate what demands you should incorporate into your campaign.
Contact us or start an initiative with us to amplify your fight for Title IX reform.
Fighting Sexual Harassment
Here at the Ruth Project, we believe that education is a central part of fighting sexual harassment. In particular, consent should be taught to students in schools long before they graduate. Sexual harassment and assault is a pervasive issue, often hard to keep track of due to its nature.
We specifically focus on fighting sexual harassment in the education environment, including grade schools and collegiate settings. To make places of learning safer and more inclusive, students should have access to mental health services that can support them if they have been sexually harassed or assaulted.
For those working to fight sexual harassment, keep speaking up about the need for quality support for students who have been sexually harassed and/or assaulted. Sexual harassment is an issue that impacts so many different types of people, so recognize the diversity of this issue.
The following testimonies are accounts of sexual harassment at school. Content Warning: Sexual Harassment and/or assault.
“I still remember the day when I was threatened with rape by one of my classmates. I was in just 7th grade.”
“I was consistently groped and fondled in ways that left me crying in the bathroom, because of the way some boys would touch me or … slap me in inappropriate places.“
“Boys have told us they can turn us straight, have groped us or touched us inappropriately non-consensually, and been called slurs left and right. It is a very traumatic experience, and changing schools didn’t help.”
“I felt so alone and violated. He has touched so many girls at this school day in and out. So many people complain … When you bring it to any [school staff] they blame [it] on his home life and he does it again.”– Anonymous, Texas Statewide Sexual Harassment Initiative
The following testimonies are accounts of sexual harassment at school. Content Warning: Sexual Harassment and/or assault.
“I still remember the day when I was threatened with rape by one of my classmates. I was in just 7th grade.”
“I was consistently groped and fondled in ways that left me crying in the bathroom, because of the way some boys would touch me or … slap me in inappropriate places.“
“Boys have told us they can turn us straight, have groped us or touched us inappropriately non-consensually, and been called slurs left and right. It is a very traumatic experience, and changing schools didn’t help.”
