What have we learned about sexual harassment among young people? Concluding reflections

Abstract

This article contains concluding reflections for a special issue on sexual harassment among young people. In this concluding article, we reflect on the 14 individual papers in the special issue through three cross‐cutting themes, each with important implications for policy and practice. The themes highlight that (1) attitudes and norms related to sexual harassment are core to its occurrence among young people, (2) the sexual harassment experiences of minority and otherwise hidden youth need to be heard, and (3) innovative approaches and methods advance the current knowledge about sexual harassment among young people. Furthermore, we stress that school policies against sexual harassment need to be reflected in the behaviors of school personnel and peers, and that both students and teachers need to be equipped with the knowledge and skills to combat sexual harassment. It is our hope that this special issue will be valuable for researchers, the formulation of societal and school policies, and for the design of developmentally informed interventions.

Sexual revictimization by peers in school and organized activity contexts among adolescents: A 3-year longitudinal study.

“…Unfortunately, the current findings cannot be used to determine what specific factors should be targeted to stop the harassment from reoccurring. It has been suggested that interventions should address the norms and attitudes that tolerate and promote sexual harassment among young people (Holmqvist Gattario & Lunde, 2023). Previous research (Skoog & Kapetanovic, 2021) and resilience theory (Masten & Barnes, 2018) also suggest that connections with other people and relational support are fundamental for developmental outcomes in challenging or threatening circumstances.…”