By Maggie Dent

In Much of The Research and reporting on sexual abuse in schools, attention has focussed on teachers as the perpetrators. More recently, attention has turned to the rising tide of harmful sexual behaviours with students sexually harassing and abusing teachers and their fellow students. However, teacher-targeted sexual harassment is often overlooked or underinvestigated. Teacher-targeted sexual harassment has been documented sporadically for decades (Coulter, 1995; Jones, 1989; Robinson, 2000). However, a growing body of contemporary research, media reports and firsthand accounts suggest that the behaviour is intensifying, and it is mainly carried out by male students (Adams, 2021; Hiatt, 2022; Variyan and Wilkinson, 2022; Wescott & Roberts, 2023; Sparrow, 2024; Ketchell, 2024). It is difficult to ascertain the true extent of teacher-targeted sexual harassment. There is a general underreporting of incidents (NASUWT, 2019; Robinson, 2000). Studies that do explicitly explore teacher-targeted sexual harassment tend to group sexual harassment with other forms of harmful behaviour, including bullying and physical violence. This disguises the magnitude of the issue (for example, see Astor et al., 2023; Li et al., 2023; Santor et al., 2021). The Sexual Harassment of Teachers in Schools Survey was initiated to bridge this gap in the research. The idea for the survey grew out of conversations between Collective Shout Campaign Strategy Team members and author and educator Maggie Dent. These discussions were sparked by shared concerns over anecdotal accounts from teachers that suggested an intensification of sexual harassment and sexualised behaviours exhibited by students in Australian classrooms. Designed collaboratively by Maggie Dent and the Collective Shout team, the survey was distributed widely through networks, social media posts, email campaigns, and news outlets. The survey went live in November 2022, and responses were collected until the survey closed in June 2023. The purpose of the survey was to gain a general indication of the pervasiveness of sexual harassment by students, the kinds of behaviours displayed, and how sexual harassment is being dealt with by schools. The survey aimed to catalyse serious discussions on the necessary measures to address this growing problem. It was envisaged that responses might be useful in guiding schools to improve policies and processes for the prevention of and response to sexual harassment in schools. A total of 1,012 teachers responded to our survey. What they have to say is compelling. Survey respondents reinforce what has been identified in research and reported by mainstream media. Their invaluable suggestions based on their expertise and direct experience inform the recommendations we provide in this Report.   

Taylors Lakes, Victoria: Collective Shout, 2024. 56p.

By Pauline Moore, Melissa Kay Diliberti, Brian A. Jackson

Violent incidents, such as shootings, and threats of such violence, have become relatively common occurrences in kindergarten through grade 12 (K–12) schools across the United States. One common way that schools help their staff and students train for the possibility of an active shooter or other threats is by conducting practice drills. The prevalence of these drills — combined with the mixed results of how these drills affect staff and students' feelings of preparedness, safety, fear, and stress — highlights the need for more research. To better understand what teachers across the United States think about school safety generally and active shooter drills in particular, RAND researchers administered a survey to a randomly selected sample of 1,020 K–12 teachers using the American Teacher Panel. The survey focused on teachers' perceptions of school safety, including their main safety concerns and their experiences with incidents of gun violence, and with drills designed to prepare students and staff for school shootings and other violent incidents. The survey specifically asked whether such drills made teachers feel more or less safe and prepared to respond to active assailant events and teachers' perceptions of their students' feelings about such drills, as well as whether support was available to students and staff during and following drills. Survey results indicate that more work is needed to understand the impact of drills on staff and students and what schools can do to better support the well-being of students and staff who are required to participate in these activities.

Key Findings

• One in six K–12 teachers nationally works in a district that has been touched by gun violence since the 2019–2020 school year.

• Relative to the previous school year, teachers reported more concern in 2023–2024 about being victims of an attack at their schools and were even more concerned for their students.

• In the 2023–2024 school year, a greater share of female teachers than male teachers (27 percent versus 14 percent, respectively) reported fear of being harmed or attacked at school. In the previous year, female teachers were no more likely than male teachers to report such fears.

• Variability in the elements and response actions involved in drills highlights the need for more standardized implementation.

• Schools do not typically announce when an active shooter drill will occur to students and parents, and many schools are not providing support to help students and staff manage any stress or anxiety that such drills might cause.

• Teachers are split on whether participation in drills makes them feel more prepared to respond to active shooter incidents: Slightly less than half said that drills make them feel more prepared, and half perceived drills as having no impact on preparedness. A slight majority of teachers (54 percent) reported that drills make students feel more prepared to respond to such incidents.

• Most teachers (69 percent) indicated that participating in active shooter drills has no impact on their perceptions of safety at school, and only one-fifth said that drills make them feel safer.

Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2024. 36p.