It starts quietly, a comment that goes unnoticed in the crowd but tugs at the heart of the young girl…  a school rule that differs between genders, or when a student chooses to stay silent to avoid the reactions. Taken together, these moments shape how safe and respected female students feel at school. This begs the question: When female harassment consistently impacts many students on campus, how can they feel safe and respected?

   Female harassment is often thought to only appear in unsafe communities, but that is direly mistaken. It also exists in environments that promote respect and inclusivity, and in fact, it is in these environments where it goes unnoticed. In schools, harassment manifests itself through snarky comments made by peers, meant to be taken as jokes, but always scarring the person receiving the comment. If West High can understand how these behaviors affect students and what can be done to recognize and address them, it would serve as a major step towards building a healthy school environment. 

    However, in an academic environment, female harassment is not always obvious or even intentional. It can appear in daily interactions where a friend makes a quick joke involving sensitive topics, uncaring of the impact the recipient will have. Although the Torrance Unified District states that “no person shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any academic, extracurricular, research, occupational training, or other education program or activity operated by an entity,” this has not been the case at all for many students at West High. Leah Sullivan (9) shares her experience receiving a sexist joke from one of her peers: “I was speaking to my friends at lunch. They were talking about something when one of them said something about my body. It made me feel very sexualized, but I ignored it and took it as a joke.” In cases like these, the young student does not know how to feel: ashamed at oneself, angry at the person making the joke, or should they merely ignore it?

   Stories like Leah’s reflect national patterns of students experiencing gender-based harassment.  The American Association of University Women (AAUW) found that nearly half of middle school and high school students report experiencing harassment that is gender based. This study suggests that gender bias harassment is a common issue among educational spaces, even for juvenile female middle school students. 

   Keeping the depth and prevalence of this issue in mind, it is essential to take action and make school environments safer and more welcoming for female students. This begins with teaching healthy peer interactions and reinforcing the idea of “See Something, Say Something.” Strong support systems that provide access to counselors and trusted adults help ensure students feel heard rather than dismissed. Schools often describe themselves as safe spaces — but that promise only holds true when every student feels safe, respected, and valued.