Sexual bullying is bullying that involves

aggression Aggression is behavior aimed at opposing or attacking something or someone. Though often done with the intent to cause harm, some might channel it into creative and practical outlets. It may occur either reactively or without provocation. In h ...

centered around a person’s body, sexuality, or sex that is typically observed among adolescents. It is a form of

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...

with the key difference being the intention of the perpetrator, a repetition of behavior, and a clear power imbalance between bully and victim. Sexual Harassment is defined as any unsolicited physical, verbal, or psychological behavior or attention and is illegal via the U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Bullying Sexual

Types of Interactions

Physical and verbal bullying

Sexual bullying can involve sexually suggestive gestures, unconsented physical contact,

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...

, or rape. Additionally, sexual bullying can occur with abusive and sexualized insults, spreading sexually-related rumors, pressuring someone to do something sexual that is unconsented, sexism in all forms, unwanted sexual innuendos and

upskirt Upskirting or upskirt photography is the practice of taking photographs or videos under a person's skirt or kilt, capturing an image or video of the crotch area, showing underwear such as panties, and sometimes genitalia. An "upskirt" is a photo ...

ing.
The AAUW
Educational Foundation 1993 journal Hostile Hallways provides a list of examples of sexual bullying in school, which includes making sexual comments about someone's body or appearance, teasing others for being or appearing to be LGBT, flashing, pulling others' clothes off, touching or brushing against another in a sexual manner, or spreading sexual rumors.

Sexual cyberbullying

Sexual cyberbullying is a form of

cyberbullying Cyberbullying (cyberharassment or online bullying) is a form of bullying or harassment using electronic means. Since the 2000s, it has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers and adolescents, due to young people's increased u ...

that involves using technology, such as cell phones, social media, and other online tools, to harass or coerce someone in a sexually explicit manner. This can include requesting explicit photos or messages, sending unwanted sexually explicit photos or messages, sharing sexually explicit messages and photos online without consent, threatening to send private photos online with the goal of receiving consensual sex, and publicly making unwanted sexually explicit comments.

Case studies

Students

A study by the

National Union of Teachers The National Union of Teachers (NUT; ) was a trade union for school teachers in Education in England, England, Education in Wales, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It was a member of the Trades Union Congress. In March 2017, NU ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

indicated that sexual bullying starts at the primary school level and usually takes the form of verbal insults by boys directed at girls and women. The insults are generally centered on girls' sexual status, and include terms such as 'bitch', 'slag', 'tart' and 'slut''. Boys are mainly sexually bullied if they are viewed by their peers, especially females, if they do not act in a promiscuous way that conforms to a traditional view of masculinity.

LGBT

According to a 2016 UNESCO study, a significant proportion of

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

students experience homophobic and transphobic violence in school globally. The proportion of LGBT students affected ranged from 16% in Nepal to 85% in the United States. LGBT students are also more likely to experience such violence at school than at home or in the community. LGBT students report a higher prevalence of violence at school than their non-LGBT peers. In

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, for example,

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

, gay and bisexual students were three times more likely to be bullied than their heterosexual peers and in Norway 15–48% of lesbian, gay and bisexual students reported being bullied compared with 7% of heterosexual students.

Appearance

Research suggests that physical appearance plays a role in sexual bullying among youth. A 2010 study that observed sexual bullying in 5 European Countries found that 85% of participants had experienced at least one form of sexual bullying victimization. The female adolescents experienced more sexual bullying victimization including sexual harassment, sexual assault, and being bullied for their appearance compared than their male counterparts. Another study, using the Comprehensive Assessment of School Bullying (CASB) measured students’ self-perceived attractiveness and whether or not they were involved in sexual bullying by way of being a perpetrator, victim, observer, or if they had friends that were perpetrators of sexual bullying. 80% of female students and 66% of male students reported that they were average looking compared to their peers. Among those that self-reported as average looking, they were found to be both perpetrators and victims of sexual bullying, observers of sexual bullying, and having friends that commit sexual bullying all at a higher rate of those that reported being either above or below average attractiveness.

Associated effects and risks

Victims of sexual bullying may struggle with depression,

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion characterised by an unpleasant state of inner wikt:turmoil, turmoil and includes feelings of dread over Anticipation, anticipated events. Anxiety is different from fear in that fear is defined as the emotional response ...

, isolation, low self-esteem,

eating disorder An eating disorder is a mental disorder defined by abnormal eating behaviors that adversely affect a person's health, physical or mental health, mental health. These behaviors may include eating too much food or too little food. Types of eatin ...

post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a Psychological trauma, traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster ...

(PTSD) and other

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

issues. In some cases, sexual bullying can lead to

self-harm Self-harm refers to intentional behaviors that cause harm to oneself. This is most commonly regarded as direct injury of one's own skin tissues, usually without suicidal intention. Other terms such as cutting, self-abuse, self-injury, and s ...

or even

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

. The American Association of University Women identified behaviors of sexual bullying victims including negative-self talk via guilt or self-blaming, physically avoiding peers via changing their seat in class or staying home from school, feeling embarrassed or afraid, becoming unable to identify when unwanted sexual interactions are taking place, accepting sexually bullying as an unavoidable occurrence, and emotional withdrawal from romantic relationships. Bullied sexual minority females are more likely to experience depression and suicidal ideation than their sexual minority male and heterosexual counterparts. Female victims of bullying and sexual harassment have also displayed significantly impacted physical health and symptoms of post-traumatic-stress disorder (PTSD). Students that reported being bullied because of their sexuality reported having difficulty with sleep and intense feelings of loneliness. Additionally, those facing sexuality based bullying can become perpetrators of sexual bullying by way of proving themselves to be heterosexual to their bullies and peers. The Center for Victim research found a relationship between adolescent sexual violence and teen dating violence. Those that engage in sexual bullying as a young child are more likely to be perpetrators of teen dating violence and sexual harassment later in life. The existence of sexual bullying amongst school children has been described as, “manifestations of sexual power struggles,” (Duncan 1999), as youth discover there are social benefits to being dominant and masculine. Both male and female students enact violence on their peers as a self-protective measure to avoid being seen as a weak, easy, feminine target.

References

* {{Sexual abuse Sexual harassment Persecution Sexual abuse Abuse

Bullying Bullying is the use of force, coercion, Suffering, hurtful teasing, comments, or threats, in order to abuse, aggression, aggressively wikt:domination, dominate, or intimidate one or more others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. On ...