QUESTION
Question regarding sexual harrasment at school
Asked on Mar 08th, 2017 on Sexual Harassment - North Carolina
More details to this question:
Two boys at my 13 year old daughter’s school posted an explicit video that graphically and profanely detailed what they wanted to do to her sexually. This happened two weeks ago, our daughter was embarrassed and did not tell us until last night, the school never said anything about it to us and the boys received almost no punishment for the incident although my daughter now has to interact with these boys every day at school and feels threatened every day. Her life has severely changed and the school has stopped just short of ignoring it not to mention they've never said anything to us so we could properly address it at school or home and she's obviously very distraught about it. They’ve treated her much differently than these two boys and we feel that not only was she discriminated against but she’s in a harassing environment created by the school. Any thoughts on how to proceed? Thanks.
1 ANSWER
4 Awards
This is a very tough situation. Also, it is really too complex an answer to provide here. The short version is that you must report the sexual harassment to the shool and the school must stop the sexual harassment. There is no part of the law that requires the victim to be consulted about, or agree to, the action the school takes. Additionally, in general, one act of harassment is not sufficient to state a claim for unlawful sexual harassment although the fact that it is a video could change the analysis. If the sexual harassment continues, or the school retaliates against the victim, then there may be a claim for unlawful retaliation. Claims of sexual harassment or retaliation like this are processed via the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights and must be received within 180 days of the last act of harassment or retaliation.
Answered on Mar 08th, 2017 at 7:24 AM
I am an experienced attorney focusing on employment law in North Carolina and Tennessee. This post/response is not meant to constitute legal advice.