Monitor Social Media to Combat Sexual Harassment

With school back in session, we again enter the domain of potential student-to-student violence and bullying at school. As a parent, you know that oftentimes, your child will not report such issues to you or to their teachers…or any authority for that matter. Yet, there may be a way to discover it yourself or at least find key signs that something is amiss at school.

Studies over the prior school year have shown that social media may be a way to not only monitor your child’s friends and activities but to alert you to significant problems such as sexual harassment, violence, and cyberbullying, as well as suicide plans and attempts.

A study in the current issue of the American Journal of Health Behavior found that up to half of 7^th and 8^th graders who are victims of sexual harassment and/or in-school violence will post it on a social networking site. Furthermore, close to 40% of students who perform the violent acts will also brag about it on social networks.

A national survey found that 56% of girls and 40% of boys in grades 7^th through 12^th experience some sort of sexual harassment in the school environment. And, the prevalence of sexual harassment increases throughout middle school and into high school.

In addition, when an adolescent feels the situation has exacerbated beyond their control, there may be increased social network site activities, some of which may point toward suicide plans and/or attempts. One study found that youth who may be under significant duress may copy a celebrity’s act of suicide. According to that same study, national suicide rates spike following incidents where a celebrity takes his or her own life.

Monitoring your child’s Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace accounts (or any other online social network) is a valuable tool to ensure the safety of your child. If your child is being abused at school, National Association of School Psychologists suggests looking for the following elements in their communications conversations:

1    1. The use of the words ‘hey babe,’ ‘hot stuff,’ ‘homo’ or ‘fag’ can be considered sexual harassment even if it was written as a “joke.”

2    2. Posting words such as ‘upset,’ or ‘anxious’ or ‘embarrassed’ may be signs of some issue occurring in school.

3    3. Using words such as ‘unclean’ or ‘dirty’ may also be words that indicate a sexual violation had occurred.

What you should never do if you happen to spot such elements:

1    1.  Refrain from implying or even outright stating that the child was responsible for being harassed such as pointing out their clothing or mannerism.

2    2. Avoid using statement such as “if you had told us earlier, we could have stopped it before it got to this point” as they will typically create more anxiety and stress.

3    3. Do not downplay the issue with such remarks as “Just ignore it and it will go away.” This sounds as if you do not care or do not want to take the time to adequately handle the situation.

What you should do if you spot signs of potential harassment or distress in your child’s social media accounts:

1    1.  Listen to your child’s story without commentary. Help them understand that this is not their fault and that you can help them handle their feelings. Be supportive, not reactive.

2    2. Take an active approach to helping your child be more assertive through role-playing. An example would be telling your child to use statement such as “I do not like it when you touch me.”

3    3. Develop a safety plan, especially if the action occurs on their route to school or class, such as changing that route, modifying their schedule, or assigning a friend to accompany your child through an area deemed risky by your child.

4    4. Confront the school. This can be done by talking with your child’s teacher, the school principal or even the school board. Title IX of the federal law requires schools to have a written sexual discrimination policy which includes sexual harassment behaviors. Make sure this policy exists and that it is being followed and enforced.

References:

Landry, M., Gonzales, F. A., Wood, S., and Vyas, A. (2013). New media use and sexual behavior among Latino adolescents. American Journal of Health Behavior, 37(3), 422-430.

Mumford, E. A., Okamoto, J., Taylor, B. G., and Stein, N. (2013). Middle school sexual harassment, violence and social networks. American Journal of Health Behavior, 37(6), 769-779.

Won, H.-H., Myung, W., Song, G.-Y., Lee, W.-H., Kim, J.-W., Carroll, B. J., and Kim, D. K. (2013). Predicting national suicide numbers with social media data. PLoS ONE, 8(4), e61809, 1-6.

Young, E. L., Allen, M., and Ashbaker, B. Y. (2004). Sexual harassment. Helping Children at Home and School II: Handout for Families and Educators, Supplement 99-102. National Association of School Psychologists. Retrieved from http://www.nasponline.org/educators/Sexual%20Harassment.pdf.