Collaborating to Address Online Sexual and Gender-Based Harassment and Abuse (Poster 74)

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Seven
  In Poster Session: Youth Teams in Education Research Poster Session

Abstract

Girls often receive unsolicited sexual content and feel pressured to send sexual images (Mishna et al., 2020; Ringrose et al., 2021). Youth report lacking support from parents, schools, or other adults (Mishna et al., 2021), consistent with research findings that schools and organizations are ill equipped to deal with youth digital sexual intimacy and gendered harms (Jørgensen et al., 2019). Youth are unhappy with education they receive on topics such as consent, sexual harassment, and LGBTQ+ rights (Keating et al., 2018). The objective of this project is to work with youth to raise awareness of online sexual and gender-based harassment and abuse, to increase youth’s ability to respond effectively.
Prior to COVID, the research team examined consensual and non-consensual sexting, through focus groups with youth from three schools and organizations, in which University of Toronto Schools (UTS) participated. One year later, as the research team planned a follow-up study, the School formed a Committee of students and staff to address online sexual harassment. The research team and the Committee decided to collaborate. We co-created and conducted a survey on online sexual harassment and abuse, with grade 7-12 students. We also co-created, implemented, and are evaluating an educational workshop for youth on this topic. The workshop was co-facilitated by school staff and the research team. A survey was administered before and after the workshop, to monitor our impact and inform workshop iteration. Finally, we are conducting short individual interviews with workshop participants who agree, to obtain further feedback. Preliminary results of the Online Sexual Harassment survey confirmed the need for information/education and effective strategies and support to respond to online and gender-based harassment. Preliminary workshop survey results indicate that the youth found the material relevant, timely, and helpful with regards to safety, advocacy, and self-care.

Authors

• Faye Mishna, University of Toronto
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jennifer Cypher, University of Toronto Schools
  Presenting Author

• Cresencia Fong, University of Toronto Schools
  Presenting Author

• Simon Goleszny, Youth Teams in Education Research
  Presenting Author

• Akshita Nath, Youth Teams in Education Research
  Presenting Author

• Kiran Oberai, Youth Teams in Education Research
  Presenting Author

• Jaya Choudhry, Youth Teams in Education Research
  Presenting Author

• Curtis Yeung, Youth Teams in Education Research
  Presenting Author