With administrative assistance from Nora Shanahan,
Centre For Research On Violence Against Women and Children
London, Ontario
Sexual harassment is one of the most prevalent and pervasive forms of gender-based violence routinely encountered by girls in their everyday lives. As first conceptualized, sexual harassment was viewed primarily as a form of violence experienced by women in the workplace. In recent years, however, there has been growing recognition that sexual harassment begins much earlier, and that it is a common feature of girls' lives in their homes, their schools, and their communities (Staton & Larkin, 1993). Lying at one end of the continuum of violent behaviours directed toward girls and young women, sexual harassment may be construed as "the first and most vital entry point into training males to dominate and violate females and females to submit to this domination and violation as an inevitable part of 'the way life is'" (Rooney, 1998, p. 5). Thus, as a form of sexual violence, sexual harassment is a fundamental way in which gender inequality is entrenched, expressed and reinforced in the lives of women and girls. While there is a considerable body of research related to the sexual harassment of women in the workplace, and a growing literature addressing the harassment of university women, according to Dahinten (2000), relatively little attention has been paid to the sexual harassment of young girls and adolescent females.
June Larkin (1994) has defined sexual harassment as "an expression of sexism which reflects and reinforces the unequal power that exists between men and women in our patriarchal society". It is unwanted and unwelcome sexual behaviour that interferes with one's life and includes put-downs or negative comments made about gender. According to Larkin, sexual harassment may be verbal (demeaning comments, insults, demands, threats, harassing phone calls), physical (grabbing, touching, flashing, fondling), or visual (leering, ogling, pornography, demeaning graffiti) in nature. Sexual harassment can also be expressed in assumptions about one's race. In Ontario, the Human Rights Code includes a definition of sexual harassment that incorporates similar ideas as those put forth by Larkin. However, its focus is primarily on adults in the workplace and this code has not been well-used in the best interests of children. When attempts to do so have been made, the outcome has not been a positive one (Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children, 1999).
Because of the amorphous and often insidious nature of sexual harassment, it is difficult to state with certainty the number of girls who encounter this form of violence. However, in one large survey commissioned by the American Association of University Women Foundation (AAUW, 1993), it was reported that sexual harassment was experienced by 81% of girls, aged nine to fifteen. In a Canadian survey, Bagley, Bolitho and Bertrand (1997) found that only 23% of their sample of 1,025 adolescent women from western Canada had experienced sexual assault, including harassment. These authors noted, however, that the questionnaire used in their study asked about "more serious" dimensions of sexual harassment, including sexual assault. Thus, the more subtle forms of harassment were unlikely to be captured, resulting in the relatively lower reports of sexual harassment.
Regardless of definitions used, these surveys support our assertion that sexual harassment is a common part of the everyday lives of girls. However, the manner by which this type of gender-based violence is experienced varies, and is shaped by other systemic forms of violence in their lives, namely the intersectionality of race, class, ability, and sexual orientation. According to a study by American Association of University Women titled "Hostile Hallways: The AAUW Survey on Sexual Harassment in America's Schools", observable differences were evident among Black, White, and Hispanic girls. Peggy Orenstein (1994) conducted an in-depth case study of two racially and economically different middle-schools in California, one of which was comprised primarily of students of colour. Results of her observations similarly demonstrated that the interaction of race, class and gender interact to complicate the dynamics of sexual harassment, with different class and race-based results for young women. As Randall and Haskell (2000) commented, these findings, along with those from Canadian studies, strongly suggest the need for intensive study into the experiences of further marginalized girls and young women, to deepen and enrich our understanding of the phenomenon from the lives of differently situated girls and adolescents.
Behaviours associated with sexual harassment are often dismissed under the mantra of 'boys will be boys', or 'it's just a joke'. This 'unacknowledged face of violence' is, in reality, a major factor in the social construction of male power and control. As such, it is a phenomenon that cripples girls, boys, and their relations with themselves, others, and the world. Despite the deleterious effects on the health of girls, and boys, sexual harassment continues to flourish in all spheres of our society. As Rooney (1998) wrote in a critical review of the literature related to sexual harassment, through the refusal to acknowledge the significance of sexual harassment in the lives of girls and women, we are, in effect, condoning more explicit forms of violence. In other words, "permission to sexually harass constitutes permission to go further" (p. 5).
Phase II of the Girl Child Project was informed by the principles of feminist-based action research, and was designed to hear first-hand how violence is defined, understood, and responded to by children and youth. The primary objective was to elaborate upon the diverse ways in which girls and young women encounter, negotiate, and begin to accept or expect violence in their lives, and the roles of boys or young men in this process. A second, yet still central, objective was to increase our understanding of the interactive effects of sexual harassment and everyday violence on the health and well-being of the girl child.
The inclusion of boys in the study facilitated our examination of the gendered nature of everyday violence, and underscores our view of gender as a social relationship and a feature of all people's lives. It is our belief that an examination of gender requires that we pay simultaneous attention to the lives of girls and boys. It is important to note, however, that our aim is not to draw comparisons between girls and boys, nor do we presume an 'equal playing field'. Rather, understanding the context in which girls are socialized to expect violence and boys are encouraged to perpetrate violence, the reactions and experiences of girls and boys in relation to violence, is part of a larger project that privileges the voices of girls. The resulting life history narratives are both subjectively and objectively rich. They reveal how children and youth daily encounter and assimilate oppressive social behaviour, which is simultaneously censured and sanctioned by significant social groups and institutions, including peers and schools. The normalization of violence is seen in action through the story-narratives. Contrary to a popular perception of violence as a present-absent phenomenon, violent acts present in multiple forms. They are perceived by the participants to occur along a continuum of acceptability, weighted by degrees of violence and the relative social costs of acknowledging or ignoring the unwanted behaviour. While sometimes subtle, everyday violence is nevertheless a salient pervasive force in our children's social and individual development.
In this research, the girls and boys were the authors of the stories, told in their own voices, using their own words. Their reports clearly confirm that gender organizes how everyday violence is defined, interpreted, and acted upon. A diverse array of strategies, some more conscious than others, are used to contest and negotiate everyday violence.
Our analysis supports the feminist thesis that girls' experiences of violence are substantively different from that of boys. This differential experience can be observed in three ways: the manner in which violence manifests; the resources and strategies considered legitimate to manage the intrusiveness of the violations; and how episodes of violence are responded to and affirmed by those in authority. These intersect in each of the thematic areas that we identify using constellations of coping strategies. Whether engaging in violent behaviour, or responding to it, the viability of coping strategies is shaped by perceptions of what is socially appropriate, and thus legitimate, given one's gender. Action is weighed by its potential to moderate, though not necessarily to eliminate, everyday violence. In this study, we see that social structures of inequality are perpetuated through relations of power which reinforce a subordinate social position for the girl child.
Following a brief review of the literature, we will discuss the study, its methodology, findings, and the recommendations arising from the thematic analysis of the narratives. Recommendations will address the contextual effects of everyday violence and suggest programming ideas directed toward the elimination of violence, as well as strategies for encouraging and affirming healthy resistance. Also, strategies for addressing gaps in existing government policies will be suggested for improving the quality of the girl child's life chances.
An important element for understanding how inequality is structurally embedded is to closely consider the ways in which less powerful groups interpret and interact with the dominant group which controls the legitimate interpretations of reality. This re-shaping of the social arena occurs in such a way that less powerful groups are not only induced to cooperate with acts which may in many ways be harmful to themselves individually and collectively, but they also internalize an acceptance of the vehicles conveying the harm. This is the most subtle form of violence in society. It is also more seamlessly woven into social and institutional structures, and thus less likely to be conscious. A review of literature related to children and violence substantiates that gender is one such vehicle through which these dominant-submissive social relations are organized.
Everyday violence in girls' lives takes many of the same physical and psychological forms found in adult experiences. These include harassment, bullying, aggression, maltreatment, physical and emotional abuse, and, sexual harassment or abuse. In the past few decades a new category has emerged relating to the impact of children witnessing violence (Jaffe, Wolfe, & Wilson, 1990), demonstrating that children can be victimized in direct and indirect ways. What all of these forms of violence have in common is that they serve to undermine the recipient's sense of self. The corrosive effect is enhanced by reinforcing a sense of powerlessness which limits functioning in both the private and public realms. Violence reflects an abuse of a power relationship, which for children often stems from their age and size relative to the perpetrator.
A number of factors have been identified for their potential to influence whether a boy or girl is at greater risk for becoming a victim or aggressor in situations of abuse or violence. Factors include school success or failure, family discipline practices and communication, exposure to family violence or family stress, community organization and cohesiveness, poverty or media exposure (National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Centre, 2001). Cultural, economic, legal, and political factors are all implicated (Unicef, 2000).
RELATED CONCEPTS: BULLYING, OVERT
AGGRESSION, AND RELATIONAL AGGRESSION
In the interpersonal realm, peer violence in children's lives is usually defined as bullying or unwarranted aggression. Pepler and Craig (1997) define bullying as the assertion of power through aggression. Patterns of bullying appear to change with age, beginning with playground bullying and increasingly incorporating more blatant forms of sexual harassment (Pepler & Craig, 1997). Regardless of the particular form it takes, 'successful' bullying is contingent upon an understanding of the weaknesses of the intended target and presenting oneself as superior in size and strength, often accomplished by recruiting support from other children (Pepler & Craig, 1997). Pepler and Craig further note that bullying behaviour that is ignored may escalate into gang attacks, physical or sexual assault, dating violence, marital violence, workplace harassment, and child or elder abuse. The ultimate goal of bullying is to use victimization to acquire personal power including peer group status.
Aggression and bullying are terms commonly used to describe physical and verbal altercations among peers. A gender analysis of aggression has contributed to the delineation of two distinct forms of aggression: relational and overt. Several investigators have reported that boys are typically more overtly aggressive, while girls tend to be more relationally aggressive (Crick, 1996; Crick, Kasa, & Ku, 1999; Grotpeter & Crick, 1996). Bullying, which is the assertion of power through aggression, is usually considered to be a predominantly overtly aggressive behaviour.
Relational aggression occurs within the peer group, and is characterized by the formation of highly intimate and exclusive friendships, primarily among girls. There is a strong presumption of allegiance; rather than engaging in mutual acts of self-disclosure, common among friends, in the context of relational aggression, there is an expectation that their friends should self-disclose to them in a more one-sided fashion. Overt aggression, in contrast, is directed toward individuals outside of the 'group', and is dependent upon the participation of those within the group. Children who befriend overtly aggressive children may be lured into aggressive encounters even if they have not been aggressive themselves before. The goal is often to gain peer status rather than to develop warm, close relationships (Grotpeter & Crick, 1996; Olweus, 1993).
In recent years, several researchers have begun to attend closely to the nature of schoolyard 'play'. In one study of observed incidents of teasing and bullying among younger school children, kindergarten to grade three, it was reported that 78% of incidents were initiated by boys, a rate three times higher than that of girls. Boys (52%) and girls (48%) were almost equally likely to be recipients of the bullying or teasing. While girls and boys were equally likely to use physical tactics to initiate the episode, 31% of boys would use a physical response while only 15% of girls would respond physically. Girls more frequently responded verbally (35% girls, 19% boys) and there were similar rates of no response (girls 24%, boys 29%) (Gropper & Froschl, 2000).
A CONTINUUM OF VIOLENCE IN THE LIVES OF GIRLS
Schools and women's shelters are common sites used to research children's experiences of everyday violence in all age groups. School-based research in particular provides insight into the maintenance of gender-based sexual harassment through peer relations. The school environment, although envisioned as a safe space, in actuality may not be. As an example, Paludi (1997) demonstrates that peer harassment contributes to the production of an intimidating, offensive, or even hostile environment that interferes with students' abilities to learn. Sexual harassment occurs on a daily basis in high school hallways and classrooms. Systematic gender discrimination disadvantages girls in the area of curriculum, in access to authority and role models since a disproportionate number of teachers and administrators are male, and, more directly through harassment by male teachers and students (Smith, Bourne, & McCoy, 1998). According to Larkin (1994), adolescent girls become increasingly desensitized to pervasive harassment and abuse to the point where they persistently fail to identify verbal forms of abuse. Instead they limit definitions of abuse to rape and other violent forms of interference. The impact is to further minimize and conceal the everyday experiences of violence in the life of the girl child.
Preschool and early school years. As early as preschool a gendered pattern emerges in which relational aggression is more prevalent for girls, and overt physical aggression for boys (Crick, Kasa, & Ku, 1999). Gropper and Froschl (2000) found that preschool boys are more likely to initiate violence than preschool girls. These patterns persist as children grow. Whether fulfilling the role of initiator, recipient, or bystander, peers continue to exert a large influence on aggressive behaviour into adulthood. In their study of students in grades one to six, O'Connell, Pepler and Craig (1999) found that older boys are more likely to actively participate in bullying than younger boys, but girls are more likely to intervene to stop the bullying than either younger or older boys.
Pre-adolescent years. An increased prevalence of overt aggressive behaviour in pre-adolescent children occurs at home, in the schoolyard, classroom, neighbourhood, and other public places. This pattern may be attributed to a number of factors. These include parental discipline practices, exposure to emotional or physical abuse, sibling fighting, lack of adult supervision, negative peer influence and questionable neighbourhood safety (Duncan, 1999; Espelage, Bosworth, & Simon, 2000). In contrast to boys who may gain status as a 'reward' for aggressive behaviour, pre-adolescent girls who act out their aggression in relationships are at greater risk of rejection in future peer relationships (Crick, 1996). This increased vulnerability for girls is significant. According to several researchers (Boulton, Trueman, Chau, Whitehand & Kishori, 1999; Pellegrini, Bartini & Brooks, 1999), having friends and being liked by one's peers play an important role in protecting girls from bullying behaviour.
Adolescent years. When physical or sexual assaults occur during the ages of 15-17 years, the most likely perpetrators are acquaintances, followed by strangers and then family members. Statistics Canada (2000) further states that adolescent girls are most likely to be assaulted by family members. Also, in contrast to the pre-adolescent pattern, at age 13 a reversal occurs and girls rather than boys have the highest incidence of physical victimization. Recent surveys put the rate of high school students who experience any form of intimate relationship violence between 36% and 45% (Malik, Sorenson, & Aneshensel, 1997; Molidor & Tolman, 1998; O'Keefe & Treister, 1998).
Physical violence in dating relationships is surprisingly prevalent during adolescence and exhibits a differential gender impact (Foshee, 1996; Molidor & Tolman, 1998). Adolescent girls are more likely to experience physical violence such as being punched or forced into sexual activity. Girls report that they are most apt to respond by crying, followed by fighting back, running away, or by obeying their aggressive partner. In the same study adolescent boys reported they were more likely to be pinched, slapped, scratched, and kicked in dating relationships, although they were also more likely to be dismissive and just laugh it off (Cascardi, Avery-Leaf, O'Leary & Smith Slep, 1999).
The way in which sexual harassment affects health is not well understood, particularly among girls, and the results of research to date are inconclusive. Jones and Remland (1992) conducted research with adult women and observed that women may perceive unwanted advances as bothersome, but that the costs are relatively minor. In contrast, Esacove (1997) observed that women in her research experienced a "diminishing sense of self" and were affected, both physically and emotionally, by their encounters with sexual harassment.
In one of the larger studies related to the effects of workplace harassment upon adult women, Dansky and Kilpatrick (1997) observed a broad range of physical and psychological costs. In this survey of 3006 women, ages 18-34, those who had been harassed were at significantly greater risk of post-traumatic stress disorder and/or depression than those who had not experienced harassment. Similar findings were reported by Charney and Russell (1994) who observed that sexual harassment is frequently associated with mental health impairments in adult women.
Research concerning the health effects of sexual harassment on girls and young women remains, for the most part, an unexamined area. Several writers have observed a tendency among girls to drop out of school, to suffer from lowered self-esteem, depression, feeling - and being - unsafe in public places, eating disorders, and suicidal thoughts and attempts (Jiwani et al., 1998; Pipher, 1994). This line of investigation, however, is still relatively new and much remains to be learned. It has only been in the last decade that we've begun to conceptualize violence as an important public health concern. However, based on current understandings about the relationship between sexual harassment and health among adult women, it is reasonable to speculate that subtle and explicit forms of violence, including sexual harassment, would jeopardize the physical and emotional health of girls and young women.
Gropper and Froschl (2000) suggest that regardless of whether children are identified as the recipients or perpetrators of aggressive incidents, they tend to perceive that adults witness the abuse, and that they fail to respond in a helpful way. Craig, Henderson, and Murphy (2000) found that teachers are more likely to respond to physical aggression, which can be more readily defined as bullying, than to verbal aggression. To children and youth, this suggests an implied silent consent, or condoning, of verbal assaults. In effect, this failure to respond further reduces recognition or acknowledgement of the full range of everyday violence which children are exposed to.
This pattern of downplaying the significance of everyday violence increases as children get older, despite the increasingly verbal and sexualized nature of the events to which they are exposed. Children learn that perceptions of victimization vary with the type and degree of the coercive act, and thus the level of societal support available to them also fluctuates. This is substantiated by Statistics Canada (2000) which reports that for people over the age of 15 years, 60% of the crime-related incidents reported on the General Social Survey had not been reported to the police because they were deemed not important enough.
While important insights may be gleaned from this body of work, several limitations are noteworthy. Most significant among these is the emphasis on individual behaviours and responses. While understanding human responses to violence is critical, it is impossible to fully grasp these without paying simultaneous attention to the broad social, political, cultural, and historical contexts in which these occur. Without consideration of these broader structures, the tendency to individualize and pathologize, and thus minimize, the problem of violence is heightened. Further, much of this research is fraught with androcentric, ethnocentric, and adultcentric biases. Typically, the investigators tell us little, if anything, about the cultural background of research participants, thus the relevance of findings to diverse groups is unknown. Further, many of the studies about 'children and youth' are based on interviews with parents, thereby privileging adult perspectives that are often quite different from those of their children. Finally, and most significantly, the vast majority of studies pertaining to sexual harassment focus on adult women who are harassed in the workplace. Very few studies directly address sexual harassment as it is experienced by girls.
Discussions in Phase I had focussed on feelings and experiences about 'being a girl,' what participants liked and disliked, what were perceived to be the challenges and joys of girlhood, and how participants had learned the way to be a girl-and what this 'being a girl' meant to them. We learned that all girls are vulnerable and "at risk" for experiencing gender-related violence in their everyday lives. In Phase II we sought to deepen our understanding of this phenomenon.
In keeping with our perspective that gender is a social relationship influencing everyone's life, and the importance of including boys in a gender-analysis of everyday violence in girls lives, our sample consisted of 252 boys and girls, aged 8 to 18 years. Personal narratives were elicited using focus groups and face-to-face interviews. Of these, 101 individuals (61 females) also elected to complete written or photographic journals. Roughly 60% of participants were girls, whereas in the Phase I focus groups the participants were all female.
To better understand the nature of the girl child's experiences with respect to sexual harassment, and how it is created and acted upon, we selected our participants from a wide array of lifestyle, socio-economic, cultural, and religious backgrounds. Participants were recruited from schools and community agencies, organizations and neighbourhood settings. We included boys and girls less likely to be captured in current health and social services studies.
Participants self-identified their ethnicity, and represent the diversity of ethnic groups in Ontario. The ethnic composition of the sample is as follows: Canadian 50%, European 20%, Vietnamese 15%, Black 3%, Filipino 3%, Hispanic 2%, Somali 2%, Middle Eastern 2%, and Native/Aboriginal 1%. The boys and girls report that they live in family situations where their parents are married (72%), separated/divorced (25%), or in situations where neither birth parent shares a home with them (3%). Several respondents reported that their mothers had no education because it had been denied to them in their country of origin, and many did not know their parents' education or occupation.
We chose a number of approaches that were specifically designed to elicit thoughtful, candid responses from the girls and boys. The goal was to gain insight and understanding into the gendered nature of everyday violence by hearing their stories. The narrative data were examined and analyzed for common themes and areas of divergence. Consistent with principles of feminist research, we strove to create an informal, safe, and participatory atmosphere, enhancing the likelihood that participants would openly engage in dialogue with the researchers. In this manner, we were able to capture the subtle and explicit forms of sexual harassment, the reactions it evokes in the girl child and those around her, and understandings as to why it occurs with particular attention to the role of gender. Finally, we explored with participants their ideas regarding how to address and eliminate the micro- and macro- manifestations of everyday violence in the lives of girls.
In view of the exploratory nature of this study and the complex nature of its subject, we elected to use several strategies to interact with the girls and boys. These included questionnaires, in-depth interviews, focus groups, photographic and written journals. Each of the 252 girls and boys participated in at least one format. Parental consents were obtained before the boys and girls participated in a focus group or in-depth interview. Regardless of how they participated, the process was designed to give girls and boys the opportunity to convey their personal stories and thoughts about everyday violence to the researcher using their own words. They retained full control over the experiences they shared, and how they did this.
Focus groups. Same-gender focus groups were comprised of 10-14 youth each, involving 104 girls and 63 boys, or 167 in total. Initially the focus groups were developed to learn about how violence and harassment were being defined and experienced. The plan included taking an iterative approach and using the focus group information to develop a new research instrument, the semi-structured journal. This worked out well. However, it also became apparent that while younger children had difficulty defining and using these terms, they were clearly able to articulate experiences of bullying, teasing, being picked on, and the frustrations they encountered when seeking help or trying to cope with aggressors. These were the events that came to mind when they were asked to define violence and harassment. So, our iterative approach extended to re-conceptualizing the focus groups and to begin using them as a forum for girls and boys to talk in greater detail about everyday violence in their lives, to provide their personal perspectives on why harassment occurs, and to discuss where they turn for help.
In-depth interviews. This strategy was developed to engage children and youth in a dyad with a member of the research team trained in feminist-based research, and having a background understanding of issues related to violence and harassment. In total 77 females and 41 males were interviewed. This involved several steps. During the initial interview, the focus was on creating a dialogue about personal experiences of violence and harassment. Participants completed the questionnaire (described below) and then chose between keeping a written or photographic journal for 2 weeks (some chose both). A follow-up interview was then used to discuss the creative dialogues they produced. Both techniques and the follow-up interview were designed so that they would discuss their general understandings, experiences and feelings regarding gender-based behaviour in general, and sexual harassment in particular.
Semi-structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was administered by the researcher conducting the initial interview. Using a semi-structured format we collected basic demographic data and probed the respondent's attitudes and experiences of everyday violence and harassment. Questions were asked about personal patterns of daily living and taking care of oneself, health concerns, the nature and quality of peer and family relationships, family organization, ideals about girls and boys, hobbies, interests, self-esteem, and situations in which they feel fear or experience being teased or picked on. Older youth were also asked questions about dating relationships.
Semi-structured journals. The journal is a semi-structured booklet which includes a range of questions and open-ended sentence-completion statements. Participants were instructed to fill it out and answer questions in whatever manner they chose, including narrative prose, poetry, drawings, collages, and so forth. Several blank pages were provided for the children and youth to share issues, thoughts, or concerns we had not identified. Journals were completed by 44 participants: 24 females and 20 males.
Headings in the journal are:
Photographic journals. This technique had previously been used by the principal investigator in research with child refugees who had explicitly experienced or been exposed to war-related violence in Bosnia (Berman, Ford-Gilboe, Moutrey & Cekic, 2001). Disposable cameras were given to 57 youth (37 girls and 20 boys), along with instructions to take pictures of events, people, places and things which were personally meaningful to them. After two weeks, the research team developed the pictures. At the follow-up interview, participants received a complimentary set of pictures and were allowed to select-out photos they felt did not belong.
FINDINGS: LISTENING TO THE VOICES
OF GIRLS AND BOYS
Regardless of the format chosen - focus group, in-depth interview, questionnaire, photographic or written journal - the narratives of the girls and boys produced remarkably consistent and reliable information about the pervasiveness and gendered nature of violence and harassment in the lives of girls. At times we were struck by the simultaneous simplicity and profundity of their ideas. A thematic content analysis of the data definitively reveals that violence is not always explicit. Its subtle nature often makes it difficult for the girl child to recognize or 'name' it as such. Naming violence or sexual harassment, becomes easier though when the girls shift their focus to the fear and intimidation evoked by different behaviours they encounter. Violence, and their responses to it, can be linked to an eroding confidence in themselves and a diminished potential for the girl child to take herself out into the world. Nevertheless, in the midst of recognizing these tendencies, we heard many youth simultaneously tell us stories about courage, strength, hope, and resilience.
Girls and boys provided thoughtful responses, particularly to questions about how they understand the underlying reasons for the endemic nature of violence in their everyday lives. Responsibility was assigned to the media, schools, and families. Notably absent from their understandings, however, was an analysis of the role of gender, including male power and control, within a patriarchal society.
The discussion which follows will focus on the findings of a thematic content analysis of the data collected using all of the strategies mentioned above. The data collected using these techniques focussed on the experience of violence, how girls and boys are affected, where they get messages about how to act, where they go for help, and who they would tell. The main themes emerging from the analysis are not unlike those identified in studies of adult women and violence, although here they emerged by focussing on the girls themselves, their experiences with family, peers and various social institutions. The themes are 1) Understandings of harassment; 2) Public, private, and unacknowledged faces of harassment; 3) Gender role socialization with the sub-themes of Girls' bodies, girls' selves and Life in the boy kingdom; 4) The everyday struggle to survive; and 5) The power of silence.
The ability to define and use the term harassment can be linked to levels of cognitive awareness that coincide with age. The youngest participants, boys and girls 8-10 years old, had the greatest difficulty, feeling instead that it was removed from their experience. However, the vicious, potentially lethal, and clearly escalating nature of harassment was evident in the comments from a 10-year-old girl who stated that harassment is:
When somebody keeps calling you giving you a threatening message and they just won't stop. It's just like a stalker trying to kill you but just going slowly. Like first they send you a letter saying I'm going to get you. Second, they are going to start calling you, and third they are going to get close to your house. And then fourth they start coming into your house, stealing or breaking things, and then fifth, that's when they kill you.
More commonly they spoke of being teased, picked on, or "bothered." The ability to differentiate between physical, emotional, and verbal harassment was much more evident with 11-13 year-olds. They were also able to provide hypothetical examples, which usually involved extreme forms of bullying, harassment, or aggression. It was uncommon for them to perceive regular experiences of name calling, hurtful teasing, or physical aggression might be harassment. However, some explicit examples were given. One 11 year old girl wrote in her journal, "I feel harassed when boys say that I am their girlfriend and try to kiss me."
Greater familiarity with the term harassment is noted in the 14-16 year age group. Their definitions of harassment include the concepts unwanted, unwelcome, and likely reflects their exposure to high school educational programming about sexual harassment. Girls in this age group provided numerous examples of multiple forms of harassment that they personally experienced, yet simultaneously showed a strong tendency to minimize the experiences.
One 15 year-old girl provided numerous examples of harassment and the confusion around interpretation. They include a boy who persistently phoned her although she didn't want to be around him, and other experiences of being touched and grabbed around the waist in public, and kissed when she didn't want to be. In one incident a boy who attempted to enter her bedroom uninvited also fondling her breasts when she bent over to pick up something. Yet another boy squeezed the areola of her breast until it was bruised. She referred to this as getting a "purple nurple." Nevertheless she was initially unsure that any of these 'counted' since in one instance she was unclear if she had invited the harassment, since she had flirted with a boy. She thought "maybe it was my fault for doing that." But after the process of re-telling the events in the study she came to the realization that she wasn't to blame, understanding that "he didn't really have the right to touch me when I didn't want to be touched....to violate my personal space."
Violence and harassment were reported as occurring within the family, in school, the playground, and neighbourhoods. Experiences that conveyed the message that others did not respect their personal space emerged in all age groups and all locales. In the family, sibling-related aggression and violence took many forms, were frequently reported, and seemed the most easily accepted. Less frequently mentioned, but similarly accommodated were aggressive acts by step- and biological parents. In one instance a 14-year-old female told us about her step-father who "really cares about me" yet who would randomly get angry and control her by crushing her hand. In contrast, aggression from siblings most often involved hair pulling, slapping, taking or destroying possessions, or being forced to do uncomfortable things. The degree to which parents acted as protectors varied among the families.
Outside the home, the boys and girls were more likely to be exposed to vicarious violence. Reports include witnessing gang violence, robberies, and being verbally harassed by neighbourhood adults. More regular exposure to these situations increased reports of fear about neighbourhood safety, despite expressing a greater acceptance that violence and aggression are normal.
All children reported direct and indirect exposure to physical, sexual, and verbal harassment in their school environment. Frequently younger girls expressed concern that playing with boys was too physical and aggressive. They stated that they want to be a part of cross-gender play groups, yet it takes a toll. They struggle to find the balance between participating and walking away from 'play' described as "torture" where they would be tripped, slammed to the ground, be "put in jail," or have their heads smacked against a wall by boys. As one girl said,
Sometimes they'll put you down to the ground and somebody is holding you down at your hands and feet, and you're screaming for them to let you go. But then one boy that is, like, heavy or tall or something like that, will step on your back. And it just squishes everywhere. It's kind of like breaking your spine.
Retaliation such as kicking or punching, was more likely to invite an angry response from the boys, which meant the level of 'play' would escalate and become more serious, dangerous, and hurtful.
The interviews with the boys reveal the increased overt harassment inflicted upon girls in early adolescence. The boys use disrespectful language and make negative references. For example, girls are described as "icky" or "dumb" or "dogs." Boys seem to barely tolerate girls at this age, placing high value on appearance, and revealing disrespectful attitudes. Consider comments like, "they're all ugly at our school" or "We don't really make fun of them...we tell them to go away because eventually they're going to get made fun of....If you give them some cheese they'll go away." A number of girls reported sustained verbal and physical harassment lasting a year or more. In-class behaviours included boys passing rude and suggestive notes in the classroom, being kicked under the chair, poking, whispering, being called rude names. All of these actions had to be endured as part of 'classroom etiquette'.
Reports of loss of self-confidence and sense of self allude to the dis-empowering and demoralizing impact of being harassed by teachers at school. Girls were more likely than boys to report episodes that suggested they are attuned to sexual harassment by teachers. Incidents include unwanted touching and attention such as rubbing a girl's back or shoulder, acting "touchy-feely," flirting, and looking at a girl's chest instead of her face. Girls also report feeling violated when teachers betray their confidences. But other types of harassment by teachers was reported equally by boys and girls. Verbal harassment takes the form of putting a student down privately or in front of the class, stereotyping students because of their peer group or activities they like, or as an outcome of being excessively authoritarian and rigid in the classroom. What these teachers model is the power hierarchy of the school where students must cooperate even in intolerable situations which are hurtful, and provide no opportunities for negotiation or problem-solving. Students frequently cited the enforcement of a uniform-only dress code as an example of school harassment.
School was consistently identified by the girls and boys in this study as a contentious arena in relation to teachers and peers. Yet, the common societal presumption remains that school is considered a safe place because there are authoritative adults patrolling, supervising, and potentially taking action when violence or harassment occurs. And this is where friendship with, and protection from, peers is most accessible.
Girls and boys report that adults lack consistency in how they reprimand or sanction gender-related behaviours and attitudes that they receive reports of or observe. Girls perceive that boys are granted greater autonomy for deciding their movements, and are permitted to be more overtly aggressive. Examples include a group of girls who were sent to the principal's office for holding a boy's hands behind his back to stop him from hitting them. Boys report seeing their sisters, or female friends, being called sexual names without recrimination from adults.
Girls' bodies, girls' selves. Concern with appearances and relationships was a common theme that emerged from the girls' narratives. Words were their most often identified weapons, and friendships their most consistent form of protection. The ways in which the bullying, verbal, and physical threats tended to be rationalized reveals how the sexual nature of the harassment is constructed and normalized.
Spreading rumours and other forms of relational aggression was frequently reported as an important feature of girls' female friendships. Girls also commented that this behaviour is hurtful to individuals and to their groups, and that they feel regret for the negative consequences. Despite this insight it was frequently a topic of discussion and explained as a way to gain power or to maintain important relationships.
Girls frequently described their frustration with what they perceived to be a 'double standard' as to what is acceptable for themselves and their male counterparts. As well, they voiced their disturbance regarding pervasive forms of sexism. Pressure to conform and "act like a girl" led to an essentializing and minimizing of the experience of girlhood. One 8-year-old girl said "I don't want to be just a girl. I want to be more than one thing". From this girl's perspective, being a girl encompassed many things and 'just being a girl' was not sufficient. Other female participants similarly noted that life for girls was not fair, and that equality for girls and women has yet to be attained.
What is not fair.. the way people judge you for your appearance and not who you are. People who judge you by your skin colour or how you dress, they shouldn't judge you for what is outside but what is inside. The way boys or men get more attention than the girls is not fair and men get to be the responsible ones and that women be less. I think that men and women should be treated equally.
From these comments, the de-valuing of girls' lives and the endemic nature of violence in their lives become clear. In a multitude of ways, both subtle and overt, girls find themselves continually facing and challenging systemic and personal forms of oppression.
As girls shared their stories, it was common for them to describe experiences in which their bodies had been defined as 'public property', a phenomenon virtually unheard of during the interviews with boys. Girls report unwarranted gossip about their sexual activities with boys, unwanted touching, being made fun of for having (or not having) well developed breasts, for their skin colour, eye colour, clothing, hair, nose, body weight, for wearing glasses or retainers, being short or tall, and for having a disability. Girls in all age groups reported numerous episodes of being watched in public places and receiving unwanted attention.
Rationales serving to de-personalize and randomize threatening situations are an important coping mechanism. Rationales involve attributing motives for aggression to macho needs, the desire to be cool, and the importance of looking better at another's expense. Seldom were the behaviours described in the narratives attributed to individual, personal attributes of the aggressor, especially when he was included, however distantly, in the girl's circle of friends. Cultivating a diverse network of friends was a key strategy for gaining and holding power. One 8-year-old female explicitly pointed out her personal bodyguards in her photo journal. More generally, the girls suggested that both male and female friends served as literal and symbolic bodyguards. Minimizing motives and acts of aggression by using the "just joking" rationale is an important tool for sustaining the potential for peers to be both friend and protector.
Girls regularly reported that their physical space and autonomy to move about freely was compromised. It was not unusual for this to manifest in the research process itself as many girls who did the photograph journals reported not knowing who had taken a picture. This was attributed to cameras being taken away from them casually or by force. Most commonly, though, damage to, or 'theft' of, their personal property was attributed to siblings. Strategies for protection of property included locking the bedroom door, and turning to parents, teachers, friends, or a trusted adult.
Vicarious and personal exposure to everyday violence was more likely to occur when girls were alone in the midst of groups, regardless of the gender, racial, or ethnic composition of the group. Coping with harassment in these situations required attributing motives and interpreting behaviour. Feeling safe requires finding a way to fit in, and this is frequently portrayed as requiring girls to re-define acceptable and unacceptable intrusions to their personal comfort and safety. Not being alone and hanging around with the right people, especially those least likely to perpetuate any sense of personal violation, is a key coping strategy. However the girls note that learning who to trust is an ongoing discovery process, especially with peers. The boundaries for intimacy are constantly shifting as the definition of who is 'safe' expands and contracts in response to whether friends remain respectful and predictable as they navigate their own experiences of everyday violence.
Life in the boy kingdom. Salient contrasts emerged between boys' everyday lives and girls. In the all-male focus groups it became evident that boys were equally willing to sexually harass boys and girls. Towards other boys this took the form of calling someone "fag," "queer," or "gay." Judgements like "He hasn't reached puberty yet" were readily tossed around in focus groups. These types of posturing and assertions of dominance extended to a recognition that peers were an important resource for maximizing the impact of aggression and bullying. "Having one's back" was, in some respects, the male equivalent of an 8-year-old girl's need for a bodyguard. Knowing when to fight, avoid a fight, or simply back are important social skills which boys must learn. The latter activity, backing down, is rarely done as this is not "cool".
Forming gangs, travelling in "crews" and attending to racial or ethnic membership in groups are not uncommon tools for ensuring personal safety. Physical violence in the form of gang-related fighting and weapon-use were reported by several male participants. Regardless of gang membership, boys learn to conform to a "code of silence" about peer activities. Verbal tools of protection include name calling, put-downs and derogatory comments. Although boys seem to take ownership for their hurtful actions, it is less common for them to report feelings of remorse, or to be concerned about the potential harm or negative effect their behaviour might have. Harassment that reflects retaliation, or is about challenges to racial or sexual identity, were often reported as justified.
Protection and defence is extended to "their girls" who are often viewed in derogatory ways. One boy noted "you have to walk them, feed them, buy them things, take care of them, it's like having a dog." Boys revealed discrimination about the types of girls with whom they involved themselves. Girls who are popular, with high peer status, are treated more carefully, privately, and discreetly. Yet if a boy felt his masculinity was threatened, or didn't particularly care for the girl then it is acceptable to "kiss and tell," exaggerate the intimacies, or make fun of her publicly and privately.
Attributing the motive for almost any form of harassment to "just joking" emerged as the most predominant strategy used by boys and girls to keep the harassment at a distance. Girls were particularly likely to use this rationale when the harassment was explicitly sexual or targeted at a personal attribute that was unchangeable, or for teasing and bullying that was relentless. A number of reactive and protective behaviours emerged through which girls achieve a sense of competence in the midst of hostile experiences. These emerge from an optimistic belief that harassment and bullying can be overcome, that they can be respected and valued for their individuality, and still gain group belonging. Despite this optimism however, coping is energy consuming because most of the coping strategies reported centre around the girl child changing herself, which often results in negating or discounting herself, and perpetuating the violence occurring "out there" on an inner level. The responses reported by the girls to everyday violence can be categorized as emotional, cognitive, or physical.
Emotional responses. Appropriate emotional responses included feeling mad, angry, ticked, and sad. But many participants judged themselves for these responses, and suggested that they were embarrassed or ashamed of these responses. This self-judging results in self-blame producing a self-image of badness for being called names, and reports of feeling low, and depressed.
Cognitive responses. The most common report by the girl children was the sense of mental confusion that arose from the combination of being the target of hurtful actions or words, experiencing 'unacceptable' emotional responses such as anger and revenge, and lack of confidence about appropriate response. Most girls report at least one close relationship with a peer, parent or adult friend with whom they can talk it out and achieve an inner sense of okay-ness and understanding of what is happening 'out there.' These relationships are safe places for talking about taking otherwise unacceptable action, such as ganging up on boys or retaliating. Retaliation fantasies often involved spreading rumours or face-to-face challenges with other girls.
In the end however the girls almost all chose a strategy of ignoring the behaviour (but not always the perpetrator) and figuring out ways to change themselves to adapt to what is perceived as the inevitable reality of daily harassment. Girls talked about buying new wardrobes, losing weight, changing hair colour and styles, becoming more or less competitive in sports, and accessing money as a means to gain power to change the environment. One girl talked about getting "really shy" in a way that suggested it was both an unconscious and conscious strategy. Shyness took the form of losing her voice, having trouble speaking and losing the ability to speak in full sentences.
Physical coping. The most common physical response to being harassed or bullied is smiling or laughing. Girls report that "just smiling" shows that instead of being affected, you are invulnerable, perhaps even don't recognize the behaviour as offensive. Laughing was at the individual or gang, but also at oneself for feeling powerless and for wanting revenge. The trivializing is focussed outward but also turns inward. Some girls just walk away to avoid a fight. Others stay but cover their ears. Some girls report pushing, hitting, or "digging my nails into his skin" depending on the circumstance, the level of threat perceived, and whether faced with an individual or group.
In addition to being normalized and trivialized, in the form of "just joking", the existence and reporting of harassment has effectively been silenced in girls' lives. A dichotomy exists for girls regarding how to deal with harassing behaviours. While society in the broadest sense, school counsellors, administrators and so forth, encourage young people to report harassment, there are a number of underlying messages from peers, adults, and elsewhere which encourage girls to maintain silence on this issue.
We asked girls if they would report harassment, and if so, to whom they would report it. The overwhelming response was that they wouldn't bother to report it at all, and if they really did feel a need to talk about it, they would be most inclined to tell a friend, depending on the situation. This was especially true of sexual harassment, considered for the most part to be private and secretive despite the very public way in which it occurs. Reporting harassing behaviour or calling somebody on it could lead to dire consequences.
One girl she gets into a lot of fights with the guys. Like this guy actually kicked her and she fell to the ground and she was crying. They hit her a lot because they consider her as a rat, she tells on people a lot.
Being labeled a rat led to isolation and loneliness in addition to further harassment from others. Fear of isolation, ostracism, and loneliness led girls to maintain their silence.
When asked why they would not report harassment, responses were that the repercussions would be too great or the response would be inadequate. A discussion of the secretive nature of harassment evoked the following commentary:
It's not in the media unless charges are pressed. So if nobody presses charges because we're too scared or feel guilty or can't face it, then nobody cares because the thing is not happening because it's not in the media.
While the harassment is often highly public in nature, the response by school administrators was often private in nature and contributed to a sense of futility in reporting because the outcome for the perpetrator was not commonly known. Other responses from parents and teachers included "just ignore it", "boys should play with boys and girls should play with girls", and the ever popular "boys will be boys".
Few studies have examined in depth the relationship between sexual harassment and the health of girls. However it is difficult to imagine that the relentless experience of everyday violence in their lives does not have at least some adverse consequences for their health. Anecdotally, there are many reports of physical and emotional health problems faced by this population. Further, in this research, many girls told of a variety of health problems including eating disorders, sleeping difficulties that were directly attributed to disturbing or frightening movies seen before bedtime, chronic headaches that, according to the girls, were caused by stress, fatigue, and not eating enough. A few participants reported other significant health problems such as epilepsy, speech problems, and cancer. The stigma often associated with these illnesses compounded the challenge. Coping was not limited to the physical domain, but included dealing with the emotional pain and continued harassment by peers for 'being different'.
In addition to documenting the occurrence of health problems, we asked several questions designed to elicit their ideas regarding their understandings of health and what constitutes good health. An analysis of these descriptions revealed interesting differences in perceptions between boys and girls. Boys typically viewed health in a somewhat limited sense, as the absence of disease or illness, being physically fit, having good eating habits and good physical health. Girls, on the other hand, offered a much more holistic and multi-dimensional view of health as something that includes physical, emotional and mental health. Health, for girls, meant having satisfying and meaningful relationships including the support of friends, being cared for, or caring for others, and being free of abuse. Emotional and mental health also consisted of laughing, having fun, not worrying too much about the way you look, self-esteem and positive thinking.
During the structured interview all participants were asked to respond to two self-perception questions. Using a five-point scale (1 as "A little", 5 as "A lot"), participants were asked how they felt about the way they look and how they felt about themselves. Consistently, girls and boys ranked themselves differently. The girls' median scores for both statements was 3.50, whereas boys' median scores for these statements were 4 and 4.5 respectively. This revealed interesting differences in the ways both girls and boys thought of themselves.
From the narrative data, we are able to provide some context and deeper understanding of these numbers. Speaking about the impact of harassing incidences on her life, one girl stated,
Well I hate it when I'm walking by a huge group of guys and they all turn and stare at me. It makes me feel really self-conscious.
The ongoing, persistent, and pervasive nature of unwanted sexual
attention is clear. While our data suggest that there are a range
of health problems experienced by girls, further research is needed
that examines the relationship between violence exposure and health.
The narrative dialogues of the girls and boys reveal how physical and sexual characteristics merge to produce a sexual commentary that permeates the social and private life of the girl child. Girls attempt to de-personalize this sexualized social environment by focussing on how the behaviour stems from roles that boys and girls take on in their pursuit of "being cool" and thus accepted. They also actively attempt to shut out awareness on a situational basis.
Still, the girls' narratives reveal the personal injury that arises from the sense of disrespect and violation they experience as the result of constant exposure to ongoing, pervasive, sex-based harassment. Normalized both formally and informally, the personal nature of the intimidation ensures it will "get in," reinforcing girls' experience of their limited power to change their environment. More frequently they try to change themselves to accommodate an environment of sexual harassment. This increases the inner and outer magnitude of their oppression if we consider the rebound effect of rendering violence less visible. Taking a stance of silence, minimizing, resisting individual blame, and being nice, does allow one to gain a degree of personal power and safety, yet it also reduces the legitimate arena in which girls may censure, denounce, or even define, the gendered nature of the violence. Still, "negotiating acceptable degrees of violence" is a normative response. It emerged in virtually every interview and focus group.
We found little difference between the broad definitions girls and boys provided for concepts such as harassment, bullying, disrespectful behaviour, racial or ethnic prejudice, or rumours. However, gender differences did emerge with respect to the incidence, pervasiveness, and complexity of individual coping strategies. Overall, these were higher for the girls, and it was evident that they combine to distract the girl child from full participation in the world. Instead her energies are used to negotiate the obstacles inherent in everyday violence and harassment.
Girls reported a wider range of implicit and explicit behaviours that violate their sense of physical, emotional, cognitive, and psychological integrity. For example, girls frequently reported feeling implicitly harassed and intimidated by groups of boys who stared, or taunted them about body size or parts, in casual encounters or as they walked by. This sense of being watched or assessed by the opposite sex was rarely mentioned by boys. The gendered nature of verbal harassment is evident in the form of the name calling (girls being called bitches, whores, sluts), the rumours about sexual behaviour, and the competitiveness among girls that manifests in relational aggression.
Boys did not report parallel experiences of being called names, being damaged by rumours about sexual reputation, or about being judged negatively for effectively competing in sports or school. Girls and boys both reported vicarious exposure to violence by witnessing female siblings and friends being sexually harassed. The girls expressed their sense of humiliation stemming from the harassment itself, and from not knowing how to deal with it effectively beyond suppressing any public reactions and seeming unconcerned. This was the most commonly reported means for reducing any appearance of personal vulnerability or chance of escalation.
Girls were surprisingly pessimistic about the predictability of adults to affirm their experiences of violence and harassment, and thus act as viable protectors or change agents on their behalf. The resulting prescient need for the girl child to moderate between individual and structural forces manifests in a number of ways. Moderating these forces is most likely to be achieved by defining, manipulating and acting on ideals of friendship, personal identity, and agency in ways which are subtly, yet clearly, different from boys. Normative ideals are re-structured to counter daily experiences of intrusion to self-respect, personal safety, and with limits on accessing legitimate forms of power- hindrances which stem from and are strengthened by "being a girl." Girl power is the ability to exert influence to produce harmony between her inner sense of self and an often hostile external environment, which is more likely to affirm and condone the girl child as a legitimate target for violence and sexual harassment.
We see first-hand in the narratives that, regardless of gender, violence is actualized consistently through social actors and institutions which direct access to, and use of, power in the public domain. Everyday violence is anchored in social structures that provide a combination of constraints and opportunities for power, and thus action. At minimum the persistence of this pattern points to its structured nature. From this second phase of our study, we can better comprehend how, for children, this results in the routinization and normalization of personal and vicarious exposure to sexual harassment and everyday violence, which goes largely unrecognized in policies, legislation and programs that influence their current and future potential. Normalization is assured by the lack of recognition for the multiple forms in which violence manifests and by the lack of meaningful response from those with legitimate authority. It disturbs the lives of both boys and girls, but is more restrictive in its impact on girls. Structured violence ensures that daily turbulence, although anticipated, creates a conundrum in terms of appropriate response. The conundrum relates to how sexual harassment and violence, with its attendant accommodations, is largely normalized in the lives of girls.
The voices of the girls and boys in the Phase II study demonstrate clearly that it is insufficient on the part of adults to take a "they're just kids, they'll outgrow it" or "boys will boys" stance in response to sexual harassment and other forms of violence in the everyday lives of girls. Children and youth acquire and learn to use power most directly through relationships with parents, adults, peers, and other representatives of the institutions they encounter. Power is in part about economics, but it is also about being included or excluded, having shared subjective realities, and, bestowing authority in the people and institutions they believe worthy. Acceptance of authority means also accepting one's own subordinate position, and thus the need for ongoing cooperation-even as the struggle to claim one's own legitimate power takes place. Socialization begins in the family but gradually transfers to peers as youth go further out into the world. Girls learn through this extended socialization process that, rather than encountering a world of endless opportunities, their role as women will be to support patriarchal power structures favouring the choices of boys and men.
We have shown through this study that sexual harassment and everyday
violence act as vehicles to extend the structures of oppression
which support this male dominance. To alter the trajectory that
limits the girl child's life chances, we need to pay attention
to the role that social values and concerns play in perpetuating
unequal structures and social relationships. Gender inequality
is an outdated and unacceptable framework to promote Canada's
ideals for an equitable and equal society. Yet girls and boys
continue to learn through experience that girls have less status,
less authority as decision-makers and participators in shaping
their public or private lives, and that implicitly or explicitly
society approves of 'girls being girls, and boys being boys.'
In other words, society sanctions the idea that there are 'acceptable
degrees of violence' as a legitimate means of negotiating personal
and social power. The ultimate challenge we must address concerns
how we can eliminate the gap between the ideal of gender equality
in our society and the reality that the potential for girls to
fulfill their economic, social, political, and cultural potential
is constrained by the unequal treatment they encounter daily in
the form of gendered violence.
In this section, we propose a combination of long- and short-term
recommendations directed toward the prevention of, and intervention
for, everyday violence in the lives of girls. What follows are
recommendations for improving the formal environment where government
policies are made and carried out, and, qualitative concerns about
the contents of policies and programs themselves.
Recommendation 1. The most far-reaching recommendation we make regards the
need for greater inclusiveness and recognition of the girl child
in official policies and legislation. Thus, we recommend amending
policies to specifically recognize and name the legitimate status
of the girl child in the public realm, and to clearly state the
social obligation which arises from her gendered experiences of
violence. This signifies a fundamental 'first step' in re-defining
the social policy context in which specific initiatives and programs
are enacted.
Discussion: Although Canada signed the "UN Declaration on the Rights of the Child" over a decade ago, more recent policies such as the Canadian Constitution, "CIDA's Gender Policy" and the "Ontario Human Rights Code" persist in using the term women to 'refer' to females of all ages. For the girl child, the implication is that her human rights protection is covered by her inclusion in the categories of woman, age, and any applicable minority status. Plus the Human Rights Code only covers her experiences of violence in the school environment if we interpret the term workplace to include elementary and high school, which are never explicitly mentioned.
In its international Gender Policy, the federal government upholds
the importance of being more equitable towards women and
encouraging their participation in decision-making in order to
realize human rights and to maximize their potential in all arenas.
Women are, appropriately, entitled to equal status and conditions
for realizing their potential. Yet, just as a gender analysis
compels us to understand and value the similarities and differences
between males and females, this extends to women and girls,
boys and men.
Recommendation 2. That the federal government pledge, and commit to sustained
funding, towards recognizing and exploring the gendered nature
of violence, and to responding to the need for initiatives that
address the ways in which violence manifests, impacts, and becomes
embodied in girls' lives.
Discussion: More funding resources are needed
that reach out to the girl child rather than waiting for her to
overcome internal and external obstacles which impede her capability
for reaching out to the system. As we have seen in this study,
not all harassment and violence lands on the radar screen of the
criminal justice system. Nor is it typical for the girl child
to reach out to parents, teachers, or even the health system unless
encountering more extreme forms of violence. As such it is imperative
that funding is clearly set aside, and sustained, to support a
variety of means for reaching out to the girl child.
Recommendation 3. That the federal government encourage committed funding
from provincial and municipal governments, and that all 3 levels
of government work collaboratively to identify a broader range
of public and private partners to activate diverse funding mechanisms.
This includes research, policy, and program partners.
Discussion: There is a strong sense from
the girls' narratives that sexual harassment is 'just the way
it is' and can't be changed. Although the girls told stories of
innovative, proactive coping the researchers felt that overall
there was a resigned acceptance of the oppressive box that defines
and limits their lives. We note the importance of initiating programming
that fosters and supports the aspirations of young girls, and
legitimizes a more optimistic attitude about their potential place
as adults in the world. Incorporating public and private partnerships
into the identification and delivery of programs that seek to
break the cycle and impact of violence in the girl child's life,
also expands their horizon of choices about viable future life
chances. Creating the opportunity for a more diverse range of
relationships within the adult community, which model and engage
the girl child in social relationships where social power plays
out without reinforcing oppressive structures can create fundamental
social change.
Recommendation 1. That opportunities be provided that enable the girl child
to learn and enact strategies of healthy resistance.
Discussion: This process involves re-defining
resistance to oppressive circumstances as indicators of physical
and emotional well-being, and courage (Berman, McKenna, Arnold,
Taylor, & McQuarrie, 2000; Haskell, 1998). Teaching girls
and boys strategies to challenge and change harmful behaviour
that they encounter or, in some cases inflict, is a critical component
of any initiative. Males and females, girls and boys, must be
equally responsible for change through advocating for healthy
sexual choices, speaking out, negotiating conflict, challenging
racism and sexism. This will be achieved by creating educational
strategies that enhance girls' self-esteem. Fundamental
to this approach is teaching girls to recognize and articulate
threatening, sexist, and controlling behaviours by males. The
common thread running through any discussion of healthy resistance
is that at its core it involves speaking one's truth and having
resonant relationships (Berman et al., 2000). Wise resistance
recognizes political realities while remaining respectful and
keeping oneself safe.
Recommendation 2. That specific programming will incorporate, in a holistic
manner, recognition of the multiple realities and positions of
privilege, that influence how violence is understood and experienced.
In particular, attention to social identities derived from age,
race, class, ability, or sexual orientation are essential aspects
of any effective programming initiative.
Discussion: Programs must address not only
how to act as individuals, but as groups witnessing or participating
in sexual harassment and violence. As the current study amply
demonstrates, programming must be tailored to deliver information
in ways that recognize the staged capabilities for defining harassment
and understanding it conceptually, for differentiating between
physical, emotional, and verbal harassment, and, providing personal
and hypothetical examples of the various forms sexual harassment
takes. In keeping with the concern that understanding and negotiating
sexual harassment is an age-related process, educational programming
must start with very young children, but still be inclusive of
the children and youth already in elementary and high school.
Recommendation 3. That the policy emphasis on creating safe communities be
re-visioned, beginning with the creation of safe zones within
communities. Most fundamentally, this will be accomplished by
fostering an interactive environment which emphasizes communication
with the girl-child and incorporates an understanding that all
girls are at-risk for gendered violence.
Discussion: Current provincial policies
emphasize the notion of creating safe communities by focusing
on formally recognized acts of violence (Policy Framework for
Addressing Crime Prevention Activities, Children 0 to 12). This
narrow conceptualization translates into "opportunities reduction
activities" that fail to account for the vast array of subtle
forms of violence encountered by girls. Thus, girls who are not
already identified within the health and social safety net continue
to be excluded. To get at the root causes of gendered violence,
we must cast the net wider and involve the girl child more fundamentally
as partners and clients of prevention and intervention efforts.
Consistent with this aim, we need to promote ways to listen to
the girls and to communicate back to them the direct ways in which
their concerns and needs are being addressed. One effective way
to do this is to include girls and boys in the creation of an
innovative public awareness campaign that speaks directly to girls
and boys, using current technology to create educational,
consciousness-raising manuals, videos, CD-ROMs, and other forms
of programming and educational material that can be purchased
and utilized by teachers, employers, and anyone else interacting
with girls and boys.
Recommendation 4. That a new and more effective framework for explaining and
implementing anti-violence initiatives be implemented.
Discussion: In a review of the research related to school-based anti-violence programs written for this project, Haskell identified four key elements necessary for an effective framework. These are: that the framework explicitly state the normative assumptions informing policies and programs; that it accounts for violence using both individual and social explanations; that it utilizes a gender analysis to situate violence in social relations of inequality, and; that it assist students to address, and end, violence and sexism in their personal lives (Haskell, 1998).
According to Haskell (1998), prevention strategies may be classified as primary or secondary interventions. Primary approaches address the root causes of violence, are broad in scope and analysis, and may incorporate secondary approaches. They are more sweeping in their application and vary across the province. In contrast, secondary approaches are more directly aimed at increasing individual awareness. They tend to focus on dispelling myths and exposing misinformation to improve the girl child's ability to understand violence, resulting in a predisposition towards assigning responsibility for communicating new boundaries for male behaviour to the girls themselves. This over-emphasis on individual responsibility for controlling or eradicating violence is a drawback of secondary approaches to anti-violence initiatives.
The fundamental problem with secondary approaches to prevention,
most typically found in school curricula, is that they tend to
ignore unequal power relations and promote the concept of a level
playing field. In effect this fosters a 'blame-the-victim' attitude.
As we have seen in the current study, this decreases the transparency
surrounding how gendered violence is experienced and understood
in the school environment. Instead of becoming more visible, the
manifestation of violence is camouflaged, and further obscures
the potential for the girl child to name and eradicate violence
from her daily experience. The following recommendations (Haskell,
1998) are also offered in support of the establishment of an appropriate,
effective framework for putting anti-violence program and policy
initiatives into place:
Recommendation 5. That gender-neutral teaching strategies which generally
ignore the social context in which violence is perpetuated, and
which overlook the ways that male power and privilege translate
into under-valuing girls and over-valuing boys, be eliminated..
Discussion: Gender neutral strategies promote
victim blaming and fail to adequately emphasize the importance
of deconstructing traditional notions of femininity. As a result,
conflict resolution and empathy-building programs that arise from
gender neutral policies fail to recognize that girls are likely
to be over-socialized towards an empathic role in relationships
and, therefore, serve to reinforce this role. Gender-neutral policies
camouflage the reality that perpetrators are most often male.
In effect, gender neutral policies deny girls the protective mechanism
of naming violence, and thus the ability to resist it, and to
negotiate it (Haskell, 1998, p. 16).
Recommendation 6. That the relevance of content in anti-violence programs
be increased and that a gender analysis is the organizing principle
for all support programs for children and youth.
Discussion: This will teach girls and
boys to think critically about gender, and to understand the
effects of gender socialization in their lives. Elementary school
children are not 'too young' for such programming. We recommend
that a gender-based curriculum be located within a primary prevention
framework with committed government funding and attention focussed
on the function which sexual aggression serves for males. The
goal will be to establish long-term interventions which build
male self-esteem without invoking the violence/perpetrator identification.
To develop such an anti-violence curriculum, we recommend including
a thorough analysis of the sociological, cultural, cognitive,
and motivational components of male aggression.
Recommendation 7. That the nuances in how violence is understood and negotiated
are addressed through differentiated anti-violence educational
curriculum and that programming be structured to account for the
impact of the intervention on cognitive processing, and thus the
potential for neutralizing the anti-violence curriculum.
Discussion: A significant issue over-looked
in current approaches to anti-violence programming is the issue
of re-victimization of girls, related to re-experiencing emotional
after-effects of assaults through exposure to anti-violence programming
materials. This interferes with cognitive processing of new information,
and reduces both the relevance and effect of the intervention.
For males, cognitive processing is more likely to be compromised
by resistance to changing an aggressive orientation which is functional
for them. This means that males and females need differential
programming which incorporates both social and psychological approaches,
and covers a wide range of approaches and situations.
Recommendation 8. That appropriate funds be allocated for research that will
examine the full range of health effects of everyday violence
on the lives of girls.
Discussion: The findings from this research,
as well as from previous studies, reveal that girls experience
a multitude of health problems. Further research is needed to
examine in depth the relationships between health and violence.
Although it is reasonable to presume that the persistent and pervasive
nature of violence in the lives of girls jeopardize their health
to some degree, the precise manner by, and extent to, which this
occurs is not well-documented or understood.
Recommendation 9. That an in-depth study of existing policies and legislation be undertaken at all levels of government for the purpose of examining what the government says it will do/provide; how policies and legislation address the interlocking and intersecting forms of gendered oppression; and, how policies at multiple levels of government intersect to support or negate their stated intentions.
Discussion: An integral component of such
a study will be to examine how the policies actually promote and
sustain action to reduce gendered violence, how they fail to do
this, and to identify strategies to ensure greater coordination
and compliance.
In sum, we recognize that the challenges and costs of implementing these recommendations may seem enormous. However, they are the essential first steps if we are going to end sexual harassment, the unacknowledged face of everyday violence in the lives of girls.
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