Sexual harassment attorneys state that there are over 3,000 sexual misconduct cases that were reported to the Georgia Department of Education during 2013 – 2014 academic year and in Campbell Middle School alone, there were a dozen harassment incidents in the same year.
Findings not reported to parents
There have been numerous incidents of sexual harassment, running into thousands, according to a recent study conducted in a middle school in Smyrna. These cases were not reported to the parents, according to the study. The findings are a result of the CBS Atlanta study.
Police were not involved in some 300 cases that were dealt with internally in Cobb County in the year 2014, according to sexual harassment attorneys. These cases involved mooning a classmate, or a student rubbing a pencil on another student’s groin area, sexting and groping in public, according to reports provided by Gwinnett County.
Parents of children who are not involved in sexual harassment incidents are not informed about the cases that occur in the school districts, as it is not required under law. Around 60 percent of cases are reported in elementary and middle schools. CBS Atlanta said that parents do not know about these incidents and therefore do not ask for details of such incidents, but the Department of Education would give out the details if parents asked for them.
Different schools for different sexes
There is a solution for this, do not allow boys and girls to go to the same schools.
Experts say that parents need to talk to their kids about sexuality and recognizing what kind of touch is acceptable and which ones are not. Parts of the body that should not be touched should be explained to the kids by parents. Kids should also be told to report incidents to a trusted teacher.
The Executive Director of Policy, Planning and Student Reporting, Darryl York said that sexual harassment offenses were categorized under misleading and broad categories that were confusing, but now there are three distinct categories that include sexual battery, sexual harassment, and sexual offenses. Cobb County Schools have to match their definition to fit into the state’s new legal categorizations.
Chris Ragsdale, Superintendent of Cobb County schools says that the county takes all cases reported in the district seriously and would ensure that students are protected and safe when they are in school.
Former Google engineer alleges sexual harassment
Kelly Ellis, a former engineer at Google, said that she was sexually harassed in her company.
A male coworker sexually harassed her, and she could not accept a promotion because that would mean she would report to this male coworker, according to Kelly. She disclosed these in twitter messages.
Her coworkers did not support her, according to Kelly, who also dismisses Google’s projected image as that of a women friendly company that aims to encourage women into technology. Kelly claims that these are public relations stunt by Google.
The male colleague, who harassed her, was promoted to the post of a director, according to Kelly. She said that she had to quit her job because of the harassment. She was also harassed by Rod Chavez, an engineering director, but no action was taken against him by Google, according to her.