C YBER S ECURITY FOR E DUCATIONAL L EADERS : A G UIDE TO U NDERSTANDING AND I MPLEMENTING T ECHNOLOGY P OLICIES Chapter 13 Electronic Sexual Harassment © Routledge Richard Phillips and Rayton R. Sianjina

E LECTRONIC S EXUAL H ARASSMENT Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behavior intended to disturb or upset, and it is characteristically repetitive (Harassment, 2012). Sexual harassment refers to persistent and unwanted sexual advances, typically in the workplace, where the consequences of refusing are potentially very disadvantageous to the victim (Sexual harassment, 2012). © Routledge

Electronic sexual harassment is a term referring to the use of electronic devices to harass, torture, or physically harm a person in a sexual manner (Electronic sexual harassment, 2012). © Routledge E LECTRONIC S EXUAL H ARASSMENT

Repercussions for school leaders are significant and include technology-related issues involving freedom of speech, harassment, and privacy. Electronic sexual harassment involves behaviors of an offensive nature involving computers, cell phones, iPads, s, and social networks, many laws have come into question with cases involving electronic sexual harassment. © Routledge E LECTRONIC S EXUAL H ARASSMENT

Electronic sexual harassment can have psychological/emotional effects, physical/physiological effects, and have effects on classroom instruction and relationships with the students (Blase & Blase, 2002). © Routledge E LECTRONIC S EXUAL H ARASSMENT

A school district may be held legally responsible for a hostile environment created by a supervisor with authority over an employee (Quinn, 2003). © Routledge E LECTRONIC S EXUAL H ARASSMENT

If harassing conduct by a supervisor, administrator, or teacher is present, the only way to avoid liability is to demonstrate that the school district employed reasonable attention to avoid the harassment and that the employee unreasonably failed to avail him/herself of the school’s reporting procedure. © Routledge E LECTRONIC S EXUAL H ARASSMENT

Technology raises many challenging issues for school leaders. To avoid litigation, administrators must become knowledgeable about the fundamentals of technology-related school law. © Routledge E LECTRONIC S EXUAL H ARASSMENT

School leaders must be well informed in such matters to minimize the distractions and liabilities and to maximize the learning potential afforded by educational technology (Quinn, 2003). © Routledge E LECTRONIC S EXUAL H ARASSMENT

C ONCLUSION Through active involvement by educational leaders, faculty/staff,and students sexual harassment can be eliminated in schools. Eliminating this problem is a team effort, one that can only be accomplished with clearly written policies and rules that everyone has to follow no matter their authority or status. © Routledge