Sexual harassment includes:

• making sexual comments on your appearance or clothes
• making sexually suggestive or explicit jokes
• unwanted sexual attention of any kind
• staring and other behaviors designed to make you uncomfortable
• repeatedly asking you to go out when you have already said no
• requests or demands that you get sexually involved with the harasser
• insulting sexual sounds and obscene gestures
• unwanted touching anywhere on a person's body, including bumping into or brushing up against someone "by accident."
• When sexual harassment happens at work, the harasser may issue a "quid pro quo," offering you a better grade or advancement in return for sex or threatening to fail or fire you if you don't engage in sexual contact.

• Don't ignore it. It won't go away on it's own!
• If you're unsure if certain behavior is sexual harassment, contact your local criris center to talk about the situation. Anonymous calls are accepted.
• Speak up. Tell the harasser that their behavior is unwelcome and you want it to stop. If you don't feel safe confronting the harasser, tell your guidance counselor about the harassment. Most schools have policies for dealing with kind of behavior.
• Keep detailed written records of the harassment, including names of witnesses.
• If the harassment happens at school or work, report it to your supervisor. If your supervisor is the harasser, report it to his/her supervisor.

Are you a harasser?

Some people think sexually harassing someone or going along with harassing behavior will make them seem cool. Harassing someone is abuse, and in some situations it is a crime. Everyone has a right to feel safe and comfortable at school or work. If you've been harassing people, stop it! And if one of your friends is a harasser, call him or her on it. Tell them it's uncool, and maybe illegal, to harass someone.

For more information on sexual harassment in school, click here http://www.free-to-soar.org/sexharassinschool.htm.