Teacher Survey on Sexual Harassment in Schools

Maggie Dent is asking for your help. Working with movement director Melinda Tankard-Reist from Collective Shout, they are asking teachers and educators to participate in an anonymous survey about their experience of sexual harassment in schools.

“The survey was prompted by what teachers were telling us in schools around the country,” says Ms Tankard Reist.

Already advocating for our children, Maggie now wants to advocate for the women and men who work with them. “When staff feel unsafe as a consequence of experiencing this behaviour, that means they are working in an unsafe environment,” she explains on her Facebook page.

The data collected by the survey will help them determine how widespread sexual harassment is across the sector and how it is being dealt with by the schools. Anecdotal stories of being told to ‘toughen up’ or ‘boys will be boys’ and teachers taking stress leave or resigning need to be converted into statistics, so that an action plan for teachers and school leaders as well as students and parents can be developed. Maggie reports “We will work closely with all sectors to create a clear guide with specific protocols and procedures, rather than expect staff to seek guidance from a department website.”

The survey will be closing soon but there is still time for teachers across all sectors and states to contribute. It takes between 5 to 10 minutes to complete and can be found here: https://forms.gle/sQdQwTzaGUFoWYjPA

“We hope the information gathered will be useful in guiding schools to improve the education of all in the school community, the processes and policies for prevention of and response to sexual harassment. It is a criminal offence and not something to be tolerated.” Maggie Dent

If you are a teacher or educator, please complete this anonymous survey and share with your colleagues. The survey closes June 30, 2023.