‘Disturbing’ scale of sexual harassment of school staff

‘Downblousing’ is added to the litany of advances made on female teachers, reports a union survey

ONE in five female teachers has been subjected to either verbal or physical sexual advances by colleagues, pupils or parents, according to a poll carried out by the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers.

As well as “upskirting” – where photographs are taken up women’s skirts without their consent – teachers also complained of “downblousing” in classrooms, where photographs are surreptitiously taken down their blouses.

Almost a third of those who have been sexually harassed said they have received unwanted touching, while two thirds have experienced inappropriate comments about their appearance or body.

Half said they have been subjected to inappropriate comments about sex, while one in five said they have been sexually propositioned, the survey of 1,290 teachers found.

Some teachers reported being groped or propositioned by their colleagues while they were trying to teach a lesson.

“[The headmaster] would send lewd texts to me. He would visit me often in my classroom when I was teaching and grope me in front of students,” one teacher told NASUWT.

A primary schoolteacher told NASUWT: “I had a little girl sat on my lap as she was crying; the head came in and commented he wished he could sit on my lap, in front of a class of six-yearolds.”

Of those who did report the sexual harassment, in one in five incidents no action was taken against the harasser. Four in 10 said the harasser was spoken to about their behaviour, but the victim did not feel this matched the seriousness of the incident.

Another teacher reported that they had been “slapped on the backside by several male members of staff ” and experienced “comments about my breasts, sex life, comments that I need to ‘go get a ride’ to calm down, comments about how I should go get a man to go home to rather than staying in work late to do marking, lesson plans, etc”

Chris Keates, general secretary of NASUWT, said: “Too often teachers are being exposed to sexualised comments and abuse from colleagues, managers, parents and pupils.

“While the scale of the sexual harassment is deeply disturbing, equally disturbing is the scale of the failure to act on the incidents that were reported.”

The union, which is holding its annual conference this weekend in Liverpool, is urging the Government to provide statutory guidance on sexual harassment in schools.

Ms Keates said: “NASUWT believes that statutory provisions are urgently needed to require schools to record all incidents of sexual harassment and bullying and to have a policy to deal with such incidents.”

Dr Mary Bousted, president of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers said that the advent of camera phones is behind the growth in upskirting.

“It is highly unlikely someone would have bought in a camera and develop a photo. But with a camera phone you can just press a button and send it round,” she said. “It can happen in an instant.”

‘The head would visit me in my classroom when I was teaching and grope me in front of students’