Nicholas Neighbors
November 6, 2009
4:00pm
Claps, director of the Illinois Department of Human Rights is enforcing a new law requiring all colleges to inform students of their rights to seek help from the state if they suffer sexual harassment at school. Claps said there's a serious problem with under-reporting harassment in colleges and in a 2006 survey by the American Association of University Women, he said two thirds of college students reported experiencing sexual harassment at some point in their college career. But it isn't just a gender issue, men and women equally experienced harassment. Gays and lesbians were frequent targets as well. The Department of Human rights has received only seven charged filed for such behavior on college campuses. A new law requires that colleges inform all students of their right not only to mediation through the University offices, but through the Department of Human rights. Next year, the law will apply to K-12 schools as well.
Seeing harassment against people on a college campus is troubling because I am a student. Since i have been in college, I cannot say that I have had any form of sexual harassment but in high school I was often bullied by my peers, especially those who were football jocks or didn't like me. I'm glad that there are more and more people looking out for this type of thing in school and even at younger ages. Protecting children at a younger age is important.
http://www.bnd.com/news/local/story/992349.html
1 comment:
It’s hard to read stories like this because it’s so close to my personal experience. Although I have never been a victim, I have been put in uncomfortable situations where it could have turned for the worse. I hope that with media attention like this, something will be done.
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