Supporting girls and young women victims of sexual harassment in schools: “me and you and everyone we know”

What is it about?

This article highlights an innovative project, across three European countries Italy, Sweden and Romania, that used pictorial designs to empower young women to demand the right to live without sexual harassment. Data is very hard to obtain on levels of sexual harassment and the project revealed that there was a need to educate female and male students on this, as well as to educate professionals of its long-term impact. The project challenged stereotypical depictions of young women as passive victims of sexual harassment. The second aim was to educate professionals about their role and responsibility in challenging sexual harassment in schools. The focus groups with young people in schools highlighted different attitudes towards sexual harassment in girls and young women, between the young women and men, and variations in the three countries. Young women were put centre stage, they had an active role in giving their views and experiences and this was used in the development and testing phase of the project.

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