Report Finds That 79 Percent of Public Schools Reported Zero Incidents of Sexual Harassment

A new report from the American Association of University Women finds that nearly half of all students in grades 7 to 12 in the United States experienced some sort of sexual harassment in school. Nearly three-fifths of those who reported sexual harassment were girls.

Despite the evidence that there is large spread sexual harassment in schools, the report finds that 79 percent of all schools nationwide reported zero incidents of sexual harassment to authorities. The report concludes that “this outcome is statistically impossible.”

The AAUW data is broken down by state. It shows that in Vermont, 46 percent of all public schools reported no incidents of sexual harassment But over 90 percent of the public schools in Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, South Dakota, and Texas reported zero incidents of sexual harassment.

Overall. there were 36,797 schools in the U.S. that reported zero incidents of sexual harassment to authorities.

The AAUW reports states that “harassment or bullying policies and a Title IX coordinator are both associated with a higher likelihood of students coming forward to report incidents of sexual harassment in schools. Schools that have Title IX coordinators and bullying and harassment policies are providing students with the resources and support they need to come forward, increasing the likelihood of reporting at higher rates.”