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Sexual Bullying Guide

Use the above links to explore the sexual bullying guide

Teenagers who are sexually bullied are 5 times more likely to also experience other types of bullying.

Sexual bullying not only makes the victim feel uncomfortable but it makes other girls worry about what people might be saying or thinking about them as well.

It Affects Everyone (DOC)

Use the following activities to end bullying: They will help you better understand what you have learned about sexual bullying.

Bystander Quiz (DOC)

Making Assumptions (DOC)

Talking to an Adult (DOC)

What's Your Opinion (DOC)

I Play a Role Sexual (DOC)

Understanding Fogging (DOC)

What Would You Do (DOC)

SEXUAL BULLYING

After The Bullying

Why you should stand up to bullying: the victim's point of view.

Girls who experience sexual bullying can feel self-conscious and uncomfortable about their body. They begin to worry about what others are saying or thinking about them and will often try to avoid school and other social situations.

Click here to learn about the effects of sexual bullying (DOC).

Here is an example of what happens after someone has been sexually bullied:

Watch the effects Brent’s comments have on Lisa.

Watch how the comments from her teammates change how Alycia feels about herself and her own body.

Think you know?

The following questions are to help you better understand the effects of sexual bullying. Work by yourself or with a friend to come up with answers on your own before looking at our answers.

Questions about the video:

Brent and Lisa:

What might Lisa be feeling or thinking after she has been sexually bullied?

Answer
  • Embarrassed
  • Upset
  • Uncomfortable
  • Self-conscious
  • Afraid

Why does Lisa leave school? Ignoring the situation is okay, but why can avoiding it have negative effects?

Answer

Being sexually bullied can be extremely embarrassing for a victim.

When a victim is bullied they can feel like everyone is against them. We call these our “worst case scenario thoughts” or WCST. It is easy to imagine that everyone in the school is talking about you or what happened. Because Lisa is both scared of being bullied again and embarrassed about what happened, she believes that by avoiding school she can avoid the problem.

This doesn’t make the problem go away and in fact can make things worse for Lisa.

  • If she continues to skip school and class her grades will suffer.
  • Skipping school leaves room for speculation from other students and rumors or gossip may start about her.
  • Avoiding school will give the bully the impression that they “won.”

Why does Lisa put a baggy sweatshirt on? Why does this not solve Lisa’s problem?

Answer

Brent’s comments make Lisa feel self-conscious about her own body.

Lisa puts the sweatshirt on to cover up her body. This is a way for Lisa to keep Brent from making comments about her.

This doesn’t solve the problem for several reasons:

  • This will most likely make Brent bully her even more because he knows she is bothered by what he says.
  • Covering her body up is the same thing as avoiding the problem. Sexual bullying needs to be dealt with directly such as talking to an adult or standing up to the bully.

How might Brent’s actions change how other people treat Lisa?

Answer
  • When someone is bullied other students label that person as “different.” In Lisa’s case, Brent’s sexual bullying may make people think Lisa is “easy” or too flirty.
  • Once the bully has pointed out something that might be different or wrong with the person, whether it is true or not, other students start to accept these ideas and differences.
  • Students may begin to treat Lisa differently, start bullying her too, or may avoid being associated with her at all.

 

Casi and Alycia:

What might Alycia be feeling or thinking?

Answer
  • Embarrassed
  • Self-conscious about her body
  • Angry
  • Sad
  • Upset

Why would Alycia want to quit the team? Ignoring a situation is okay, but why can avoiding or quitting have negative effects?

Answer

Being sexually bullied can be extremely embarrassing for a victim.

When a victim is bullied they can feel like everyone is against them. We call these our “worst case scenario thoughts” or WCST. It is easy to imagine that everyone in the school is talking about you or what happened. Because Alycia is both worried about being bullied again and embarrassed about what happened, she believes that by avoiding school and quitting the team she can avoid Casi and the others.

This doesn’t make the problem go away and in fact can make things worse for Alycia:

  • If she quits the team she may stop doing other activities she enjoyed.
  • She may begin skipping school and her grades will suffer.
  • Skipping school and quitting the team leaves room for speculation from other students and rumors or gossip may start about her.
  • It will also give the bully the impression that they “won.”

How might Casi’s behavior change how other people treat Alycia?

Answer
  • When someone is bullied, other students label that person as “different.” In Alycia’s case, Casi’s remarks about her body and sexuality may make people think she is “easy”, that she sleeps around a lot, or that there is something wrong with her body.
  • Once the bully has pointed out something that might be different or wrong with the person, whether it is true or not, other students start to accept these ideas and differences.
  • Students may begin to treat Alycia differently, start bullying her too, or may avoid being associated with her at all.

Other things to think about:

Why does being sexually bullied make girls feel so bad?

Answer

Sexual bullying is usually directed at a girl’s appearance or sexual choices she has made.

When it is directed at a girl’s appearance it is usually something she cannot change, such as with Alycia and the size of her chest.

  • Because the victim is unable to change these things, she may be continually bullied about it.
  • This can cause a girl to hate her own body or how she looks.

Put yourself in their shoes, how might you feel if you were Lisa or Alycia?

Put yourself in their shoes, how might you feel if you were Lisa or Alycia?

Let's take a look at what happens next in If You See Bullying Happening →