An Exploratory Study on Teacher Perpetrated Sexual Misconduct in Irish and UK Secondary Schools Survey content

Abstract

This report is based on 593 retrospective experiences of teacher perpetrated sexual harassment and misconduct victimisation. #SHVReport

Full text

An Exploratory
Study on Teacher
Perpetrated Sexual
Misconduct in Irish and
UK Secondary Schools

Authors
Kate Dawson1,
Siobhán Healy-Cullen2,
Pádraig MacNeela3,
Richard de Visser4
1 University of Greenwich, London, UK
2 Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
3 University of Galway, Ireland
4 Brighton & Sussex Medical School, UK
Survey content
The survey findings presented in this report relate to
personal experiences of sexual misconduct, specifically
sexual harassment, but also other forms of sexual
misconduct, in secondary schools. The language used
in the report is explicit and some people may find it
uncomfortable. Contact information on where to get help
and support, can be found on the last page of this report.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to sincerely thank everyone who
gave their time, and reflected on their experiences, to
participate in this study. Although it was beyond the remit
of this report to include all your qualitative responses, we
read and considered each response, and did our best to
draw attention to the overarching themes of misconduct
that we identified in the data. Thank you once more
for speaking up and sharing your experiences: your
contribution is invaluable, and we greatly appreciate it.
We would like to thank Dr. Caroline West, Dr. Lorraine
Burke, Dr. Siobhán O’Higgins, Rebecca Connolly, Theresa
O’Rourke, and Kate Tierney for their time in reviewing
this project. We would also like to thank the University of
Galway Illuminate Programme for supporting this study,
and to our colleagues and networks who helped us to
disseminate the study findings.
Data collection for this study is ongoing. For
research updates or to share your experience and
participate in this study follow the author on:
@KateDawsonPhD
@drkatedawson

An Exploratory Study on Teacher Perpetrated Sexual Misconduct in Irish and UK Secondary Schools
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Contents
Background to the report 4
Study overview and outcome recommendations 4
Summary of the findings (infographic) 5
Recruitment and measures 6
Data analysis 7
Participant demographic information 8
Results -
Sexist Hostility 9
Sexual Hostility 10
Unwanted sexual attention 12
Sexual Harassment Via Electronic Communication or
Visual/Written Materials 13
Follow-up questions on sexual harassment 14
Sexual Misconduct 14
Identity of the person responsible for the harassment 16
Location of harassment 16
Participant response to harassment 16
Impact of harassment on school participation 16
Reporting 18
Closing statement 18
Support services 19

An Exploratory Study on Teacher Perpetrated Sexual Misconduct in Irish and UK Secondary Schools
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Background to the
Report
There is little research on the topic of sexual misconduct in
schools beyond peer-peer instances of harassment.
This small, retrospective pilot survey of adults who
attended secondary school in Ireland or the UK was
conducted in May 2022 to provide preliminary insights into
the experiences of teacher-to-student sexual misconduct
in Irish and UK secondary schools.
The study was led by Dr. Kate Dawson, University of
Greenwich, United Kingdom and supported by colleagues
at the University of Galway, Ireland, Brighton & Sussex
Medical School, United Kingdom, and Massey University,
New Zealand.
This project was funded under the 2021 Illuminate
Programme. The Illuminate Programme is supported by
the University of Galway Strategic Fund and managed
by the Innovation Oce within the Oce of the Vice-
President for Research and Innovation at the University of
Galway.
Research Question
What experiences of teacher-to-student sexual
harassment and sexual misconduct do past secondary
school students in Ireland and the UK report?
Summary of
the Findings
The aim of this report was to identify instances of teacher
perpetrated sexual misconduct.
All respondents completed this survey because they
had experienced some form of sexual harassment or
misconduct by a teacher during their time in secondary
school.
This study is based on the responses of 593 adults’
retrospective accounts of their experiences of being
victims of teacher perpetrated sexual misconduct while
they were students in secondary school. A total of 369
respondents attended school in the UK, and a total of 224
respondents attended school in the Republic of Ireland.
The majority of respondents were young women, who
reported being sexual harassed on at least one occasion
by a male teacher in their school. Almost all instances of
sexual misconduct took place on the school grounds.
Overall, sexist harassment was experienced most often
by both Irish (86%) and UK (95%) respondents, followed
by sexual harassment (72%, and 85% in Ireland and
the UK respectively). Approximately 10% of Irish and
27% of UK respondents experienced unwanted sexual
attention, and 7% of Irish, and 18% of UK respondents
experienced at least one type of online sexual harassment.
Study Overview
Considering the ethical implications associated with
asking current second-level students to share their
experiences, we decided to conduct a nationwide
study that explores retrospective accounts of
teacher-to-student misconduct among young
adults who recently attended secondary school in
Britain and Ireland. A qualitative component was
included in the survey to better understand the
types of misconduct that may be taking place.
This study provides preliminary insights into experiences
of sexual misconduct in Irish and British secondary
schools. However, because of the targeted sampling
employed, and small sample size, these findings
cannot be considered generalisable or representative
of experiences among the general population. This
report provides the foundation from which to further
understand and explore the circumstances that
facilitate teacher-to-student sexual misconduct.
Recommendations
The key recommendations made from the findings of
the survey provide the impetus to conduct ongoing
research to explore this phenomenon at a national
level, with the potential to develop appropriate
supports and trainings for both sta and students.

An Exploratory Study on Teacher Perpetrated Sexual Misconduct in Irish and UK Secondary Schools
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21%
85%
14%
95%
Percentage of respondents
who experienced sexist
harassment by a teacher
Percentage of respondents
who experienced unwanted
sexual attention by a teacher
Percentage of respondents who
experienced at least one type of online
sexual harassment by a teacher
Percentage of respondents
who experienced sexual
harassment by a teacher
All respondents completed this
survey because they had experienced
some form of sexual harassment or
misconduct by a teacher during their
time in secondary school

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Recruitment
Respondents who were over the age of 18 were invited to
participate in an anonymous online survey. Respondents
were recruited to participate in the study via various
social media platforms, including Twitter, Instagram, and
Facebook. The study recruitment social media post read
“Did you experience any sexually inappropriate comments
or behaviour from a teacher during your time in secondary
school (or 6th form college (UK))? Anonymously share
your experience in this 5-min survey: (link)”.
The study invitation contained brief information regarding
the nature and duration of the study, as well as the link
to the anonymous survey. The first page of the study
provided a detailed study overview, including the risks
of participating, and associated support information.
Respondents were invited to tick a box to indicating their
consent to participating in the study. The survey took
approximately 5-7 minutes to complete.
The study was approved by the Research Ethics
Committee, NUI Galway (ref # 2022.03.004)
Measures
Demographic questions. Demographic questions related
to age, gender identity, sexual orientation, and ethnicity.
School questions. Four questions concerned the type of
school respondents attended, including the gender break-
down of the student body, and whether the school was in a
rural or urban setting.
Sexual harassment victimisation. The frequency and
type of sexual harassment experienced by respondents
while they were a student in secondary school was
measured using nine items developed by Fitzgerald et al.
(1995) and used in the Sexual Experiences Survey (Burke
et al., 2020); a survey of young adults in the Irish third
level education system. Three items were also included
measuring media-based harassment from the American
Association of University Women Knowledge Networks
Survey (Nukulkij, 2011). Respondents reported the
frequency of these experiences using a 5-point response
scale, from Never = 1, to Many Times = 5. Additional follow
up questions provided more detailed information about the
sexual harassment incident that had the greatest eect
on them, including the type of incident, the gender of the
perpetrator, the location in which the incident occurred,
and the person’s response to the incident. All items were
elicited from previous campus climate surveys in the USA
and Ireland (Burke et al., 2020; Swartout et al., 2019).
The section on sexual harassment was introduced
with the following statement: “The following questions
concern your experiences of secondary school. Please
note the following sections contain questions about
unwanted sexual attention, comments, or behaviour.” The
statements on sexual harassment were behaviour-specific
descriptions of harassment (Fitzgerald et al., 1988). The
statements were preceded by introductory text that
read: “During your time in secondary school, were you in
a situation in which a teacher in your school:”. The sexual
harassment statements then followed. The statements fit
within the following four categories:
1 Sexist hostility: There were three items on
harassment concerning sexist hostility. This refers
to being treated dierently, personalised verbal
mistreatment, or oensive sexist remarks being made
because of the person’s gender - e.g., “Made oensive
sexist remarks” (for example, suggesting that people of
your sex are not suited for the kind of work you do).
2 Sexual hostility / crude gender harassment: There
were four items on sexual hostility. This refers to
receiving derogatory remarks and treatment that has a
sexual basis, e.g., “Made oensive remarks about your
appearance, body, or sexual activities”.
3 Unwanted sexual attention: One item assessed
unwanted sexual attention which explored persistent
eorts by an individual to have a sexual or romantic
relationship that was unwanted - e.g., “Made unwanted
attempts to establish a romantic sexual relationship
with you despite your eorts to discourage it”.
4 Sexual harassment via electronic communication
or visual / written materials: Three items assessed
sexual harassment via electronic communication. This
refers to the use of the Internet or communication
platforms as a basis for harassment, including
pornography and sexual images - e.g., “Sent or posted
unwelcome sexual comments, jokes or pictures by text,
email, Facebook or other electronic means”.
For each of the four categories, response options ranged
from 1 = Never to 5 = Many Times.

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Description
Respondents were also invited to provide detailed
descriptions of sexual harassment experiences:
specifically, the incident of teacher-student harassment
that had the greatest eect on them. Because of the nature
of these examples, some text has been redacted, and
highly specific examples have been omitted to preserve
the anonymity of respondents. Respondents were asked
not to provide specific identifying information about the
person/people involved and were signposted to the
appropriate police reporting procedures.
Impact on School/
Extracurricular
Participation
Respondents were invited to describe how the incident
of harassment influenced their participation in school or
school-related events.
Data Analysis
Quantitative analysis
Data are presented in two forms – quantitatively, and
qualitatively. The four categories of sexual harassment
described above were assessed. Percentages related to
each form of harassment are presented by category (i.e.,
percentage values for each response category ranging
from ‘Never’ to ‘Many Times’).
The item groups, representing sexist, and sexual hostility,
unwanted attention, or sexual harassment via electronic
means were combined to get a total score for each
respondent who experienced at least one of the four
sexual harassment types described above. Those who
had no experience of any type of harassment were coded
as 0, and those who experienced at least one type of
harassment within a category were coded as 1.
All values pertain to the total sample. No gender-specific
analysis are presented in the current report because
most respondents were female. Future iterations of this
study will seek to recruit a wider sample to conduct more
detailed gendered analysis.
Qualitative analysis
Qualitative comments were coded in accordance with
the four categories of sexual harassment which the
quantitative questions, described above, were premised
on; sexist hostility, sexual hostility, unwanted sexual
attention, sexual harassment via electronic communication
or visual / written materials. Data were coded according
to these categories, and we provide illustrative quotes
to support our quantitative findings, with explanatory
material within quotes presented in square brackets. In the
instance where some qualitative comments did not map
on to the four pre-defined categories, these are included in
a separate section we have called ‘Other Experiences of
Sexual Harassment’. These are of particular importance as
they highlight experiences which may not be captured by
quantitative methods.

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Demographics
A total of 593 respondents from Ireland (n = 224) and the
UK (n = 369) completed the survey, 85 Irish respondents
and 74 UK respondents completed the qualitative
component (i.e., described the situation that had the
greatest eect on them, and the impact experiences of
harassment had on school/extracurricular participation).
Irish Respondents
Most respondents identified as a woman (88%), 9%
identified as a man, and 3.1% identified as genderqueer
or non-conforming. Most respondents were aged 18-34
(57%), and 21% were 35-44 at the time they completed
the survey, the remaining sample were aged 45 and over.
Most respondents identified as White-Irish or another
white background (97%), 2% identified as Black or
Asian-Irish, and the remaining 1% identified as having a
mixed racial/ethnic background. A total of 71% identified
as heterosexual, 21% identified as bisexual or queer, and
2% chose not to disclose their sexual orientation. The
remaining sample identified as Gay, Lesbian, Asexual,
or another sexual orientation that was not listed in the
questionnaire.
UK Respondents
A large majority were female (98%), 1.5% were male,
and 0.3% identified as genderqueer or non-conforming.
Most respondents were 25-34 (65%) at the time of study
participation, identified as White-British (82%), and
heterosexual (75%).
Responses from the Irish and UK respondents have been
combined for the purpose of this report.
School information
Most respondents attended a mixed secondary school
(57%) or all-girls secondary school (39%), while 3%
attended an all-boys secondary school. There was an
approximately equal distribution of respondents who
attended secondary school in an urban (46%) or rural
(54%) community.

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How often a teacher ... Never Once or Twice Sometimes Often Many times
Treated you “dierently”
because of your gender (for
example, mistreated, slighted, or
ignored you)
18.1 18.4 33.7 20.9 8.9
Made oensive sexist remarks
(for example, suggesting that
people of your sex are not
suited for the kind of work you
do)
18.5 24.9 31.9 18.2 6.6
Put you down or was
condescending to you because
of your gender
26.0 23.7 29.2 14.6 6.5
Results
Results are presented under the four categories of sexual
harassment previously described. Percentage values
are reported first, followed by illustrative quotes for each
category.
Sexist Hostility
Examining the full responses on the sexist hostility items,
82% of the sample reported being treated dierently
because of their gender, 82% reported that a teacher
in their school made oensive sexual remarks, and
74% reported that their teacher put them down or was
condescending to them because of their gender.
(see Table 1)
Table 1. Percentage of respondents who indicated they had experienced sexist hostility by a teacher in their secondary school
Illustrative quotes
There were several examples of teachers commenting
on girls’ clothing. One respondent said that male teachers
would often comment on their uniforms, saying “those
trousers don’t show o your figure”, while another
teacher in the same school once said “that they were
uncomfortable when we wore strappy tops or low-cut
tops” (Age undisclosed, Female, UK Respondent).”.
Sexist comments also invalidated girls’ experiences
regarding menstrual pain and their participation in sports.
For example, one respondent said:
“I have very bad periods and presented my male PE
teacher in (2017) with a note to excuse my participation.
He made a snide remark and said having ‘lady issues’
was no reason to not do PE and that it helps with
cramps.” (18-24, Female, Irish Respondent)
“... teachers
would often
comment on
their uniforms,
saying “those
trousers don’t
show o your
figure.”
(Age undisclosed, Female, UK Respondent)

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“Male teacher picked a long hair o of my back and
commented that it looked like one of my best friend’s
hairs and asked what we had been up to at playtime
and did we have a ‘lie down’ when I took oence he
accused me of being on my period.” (25-34, Female, UK
respondent)
“The female deputy head used to measure the length
of our skirts and said they had to be a certain length ‘out
of respect for male members of sta’.” (18-24, Female,
UK respondent)
Another respondent described how one teacher would
make oensive comments regarding their same-sex
relationship:
“A male teacher made several inappropriate comments
about my same-sex relationship and how it oended
him and other teachers and how the relationship was
just happening to get a reaction from others.” (Age
undisclosed, Female, Irish Respondent)
Sexual Hostility / Crude Gender Harassment
The four statements used to assess experiences of crude
gender harassment referred to actions that have sexual
connotations, including stories or jokes, oensive remarks,
inappropriate sexual conversations, and non-verbal
gestures or body language.
The most common experience was related to a teacher
making oensive remarks about the respondent’s
appearance or sexual activities (66%). The second most
prevalent issue reported related to a teacher making
gestures or using body language of a sexual nature (54%),
followed by repeatedly telling sexual stories or jokes
(52%), and making unwelcome attempts to draw the
respondent into a discussion of sexual matters (44%).
(see Table 2)
“A male teacher
said he heard
I’d been a
‘naughty girl’ at
the weekend
and that he
wouldn’t mind
seeing ‘that
side’ [sic] of
me.”
(18-24, Female, Irish
Respondent)

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How often a teacher ... Never Once or Twice Sometimes Often Many times
Made oensive remarks about
your appearance, body, or
sexual activities
34.0 27.1 20.1 12.2 6.5
Made gestures or used body
language of a sexual nature
which embarrassed or oended
you
46.0 25.3 16. 8.4 3.7
Repeatedly told sexual stories
or jokes that were oensive to
you
48.1 22.3 19.2 7.6 2.9
Made unwelcome attempts to
draw you into a discussion of
sexual matters (for example,
attempted to discuss or
comment on your sex life)
56.5 22.3 12.8 5.4 3.0
Table 2. Percentage of respondents who indicated they had experienced sexual hostility, by a teacher in their secondary school.
Illustrative quotes
There were multiple reports of teachers making
inappropriate comments about students’ sexual behaviour,
making inappropriate gestures, and making comments
about students’ appearance.
“He commented on my spending time with an older
male student at break time, implying I was getting a
reputation for myself and also made it clear it was being
discussed in the sta room.” (Age undisclosed, Female,
Irish Respondent)
“A male teacher said he heard I’d been a ‘naughty girl’
at the weekend and that he wouldn’t mind seeing ‘that
side’ [sic] of me.” (18-24, Female, Irish Respondent)
“The teacher raised his hand pointing two fingers, put it
under my friend’s nose and said smell [his wife’s name].
Another teacher on the same trip also invited me into
his hotel room on a school trip to look for keys he lost
whilst telling me moments before my shorts were very
short and looking at me inappropriately (I was 14).” (25-
34, Female, UK respondent)
“During a conversation between a group of students
on the school bus, one of the sports masters (teaching
assistants) said ‘when an apple is green it’s ready to
pluck, when a girl is 16 she’s ready to fuck’ and made
some other gesture to indicate I was the subject of his
attention. On another occasion, he and the other sports
masters were talking, when I walked past one of them
made a sexual rhyming joke that included my name.”
(25-34, Female, UK respondent)
Some of these comments could be defined as racist,
for example, one respondent said that a male teacher
would have “weird discussions about my blackness in
conjunction with my sexuality. Strange things about how
we are all ‘loose’ and ‘like to party’.” (Age undisclosed, Male,
Irish respondent)

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How often a teacher ... Never Once or Twice Sometimes Often Many times
Made unwanted attempts to
establish a romantic or sexual
relationship with you despite
your eorts to discourage it
79.8 12.1 3.5 3.0 1.5
Table 3. Percentage of respondents who indicated they had experienced unwanted sexual attention, by a teacher in their secondary school.
Unwanted Sexual Attention
One item concerned unwanted sexual attention. The
statement refers to someone making persistent eorts to
have a sexual relationship which was unwanted, or after
the person had already said ‘no’. Overall, 20% of survey
respondents said that a teacher made unwanted attempts
to establish a romantic or sexual relationship with the
person despite their eorts to discourage it, on at least one
occasion. (see Table 3)
Illustrative quotes
Several respondents reported receiving unwanted
attention from a teacher in their secondary school, with
many reporting that they did not know how to respond to
the attention.
“My [topic] teacher was not long graduated and used
to always say that if I wasn’t his student things would be
very dierent between us. I was 14. He did this for many
years, and I never knew how to deal with it. He’d make
comments about my body, wink when walking past me
etc.”. (Age undisclosed, Female, Irish Respondent)
“I didn’t realise his behaviour towards me was wrong
because I was 16 and had a crush on him, he would
make sexual jokes with me and keep me back after
class and was extremely flirty, but I thought it was just to
me.” (25-34, Female, Irish Respondent)
“Constantly [flirting]. Friends said he was flirting but I
wasn’t sure. When I left school [he] contacted me and
asked me on a date.” (25-34, Female, Irish Respondent)
One respondent said that a male teacher once
commented that they liked their breasts and pointed out
that they could see their nipples were “hard”. When the
respondent alerted the teacher to their discomfort, the
teacher told them that he was “giving them a compliment”,
and that they should “learn to say thank you” (18-24, Other
gender, Irish Respondent).
“Constantly
[flirting]. Friends
said he was
flirting but I
wasn’t sure.
When I left
school [he]
contacted me
and asked me
on a date.”
(25-34, Female, Irish Respondent)

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Sexual Harassment Via Electronic Communication or
Visual/Written Materials
This section comprised three statements that described
being exposed to visual or written materials with sexist or
suggestive content or the electronic sending or posting
of unwelcomed sexual comments, jokes, or pictures.
Approximately 10% of respondents reported experiencing
teacher-student sexual harassment by electronic means.
(see Table 4)
Illustrative quotes
Several respondents who had experienced sexual
harassment from a teacher via electronic communication
provided illustrative quotes:
“A teacher who I did not have messaged me on
Grindr [online dating application targeted towards
members of the gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer
community] during school, I blocked him.”
(Age undisclosed, Male, Irish Respondent)
“A teacher took my phone number when they left to
work at another school. They then text and called
me and we engaged in phone sex a few times. I was
flattered as he was 23 and good looking, but I was 15
years old. I only realised when I was older how wrong
this was. He also suggested us meeting and spending
the night together but this didn’t happen in the end.”
(35-44, Female, UK respondent)
“Teacher messaged me on Facebook - then we
exchanged numbers. Sent me numerous videos of
him masturbating and I felt awkward and compelled to
respond.” (25-34, Female, UK respondent)
“A teacher who
I did not have
messaged
me on Grindr
during school,
I blocked him.”
(Age undisclosed, Male, Irish Respondent)
How often a teacher ... Never Once or Twice Sometimes Often Many times
Sent or posted unwelcome
sexual comments, jokes
or pictures by text, email,
Facebook or other electronic
means?
89.7 5.6 2.7 1.4 0.7
Spread unwelcome sexual
rumours about you by text,
email, Facebook or other
electronic means?
96.4 2.2 0.9 0.3 0.2
Commented on your sexual or
gender identity in a negative
way by text, email, social media
or other electronic means?
96.4 1.7 0.9 0.7 0.3
Table 4. Percentage of respondents who indicated they had experienced sexual harassment via electronic communication, by a teacher in their
secondary school.

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Sexual Harassment Experiences Combined
Overall, sexist harassment was experienced most often by
respondents from both Irish (86%) and UK (95%) samples,
followed by sexual harassment (72%, and 85% in Ireland
the UK respectively). Approximately 10% of Irish and
27% of UK respondents experienced unwanted sexual
attention, and 6.7% of Irish, and 17.5% of UK respondents
experienced at least one type of online sexual harassment.
(see Table 5)
Ireland UK
Sexist Hostility 86.2% 95.0%
Sexual Hostility 72.3% 85.5%
Unwanted sexual attention 9.9% 27.2%
Electronic sexual harassment 6.7% 17.5%
Table 5. Percentage of UK and Irish respondents who experienced at
least one type of sexual harassment by a teacher/school sta member
Follow Up
Questions on Sexual
Harassment
Participants were asked follow up questions regarding the
sexual harassment experience that had the greatest eect
on them. For 39% of respondents, the incident of teacher-
student sexual harassment that had the greatest eect on
them involved unwanted sexual attention, 36% involved
sexist or sexually oensive language, gestures or pictures,
19% involved unwanted touching, and 6% involved subtle
or explicit bribes or threats.
Sexual Misconduct
Unwanted touching
There were multiple reports of unwanted touching that
made the respondent uncomfortable. There were many
reports of teachers touching respondents’ lower backs or
patting their bottoms. For example, “A female teacher told
me to hurry up and slapped my bum” (18-24, Female, Irish
Respondent).
There were several examples of overt sexual touching,
including touching of a student’s leg, and chest. It was
evident in most cases that this was experienced as
intrusive, inappropriate, and uncomfortable:
“At [event],
[redacted] I
was quite out
of breath. The
teacher took
me to [private
location] and
lifted up my
[shirt] to rub
my breast and
nipple ‘to help
regulate my
breathing’.”
(Age undisclosed, Female, Irish Respondent)

An Exploratory Study on Teacher Perpetrated Sexual Misconduct in Irish and UK Secondary Schools
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“A teacher rubbed my thigh while I was sat on a table
waiting for class to end the same day when I’d asked to
go to the bathroom in class he’d asked if ‘I needed any
assistance with anything in there’ and then winked.”
(18-24, Female, Irish Respondent)
“The teacher opened my shirt and touched my chest
and played it o like he was looking at my sunburn.”
(Age undisclosed, Female, Irish Respondent)
“At [event], [redacted] I was quite out of breath. The
teacher took me to [private location] and lifted up my
[shirt] to rub my breast and nipple ‘to help regulate
my breathing’.” (Age undisclosed, Female, Irish
Respondent)
“Teacher was demonstrating a concept in a science
lab and making movements that could be viewed as
a sexual gesture (wanking). He continued to do it for
longer than necessary whilst maintaining eye contact
with me and when the class started to laugh he said
‘you like that [my name], don’t you?’. He later came over
to where I was sitting and put his hand under my skirt
claiming to be looking for a phone.” (25-34, Female, UK
respondent)
There were also multiple examples of respondents
reporting that a teacher made unwanted attempts to kiss
them:
“At [social event], a male teacher asked me to dance.
He’d been suggestive before, but I agreed. When
dancing, he grabbed my ass and then tried to kiss me.
I ran o to my friends, and we laughed about it. Later
he licked my neck when we were all drinking shots at
a table. At the time I thought it was a joke, but I was 17.
It was horrible, and I still think about it, and it makes my
skin crawl.” (25-34, Female, Irish Respondent)
“At a club following our sixth form leavers do, some
teachers came with us for whatever reason, the
teacher who made a pass at me asked me to meet him
on the seating on the other side of the club and when I
did he tried to kiss me. I didn’t reciprocate and was not
expecting it, he put his number in my phone and told
me to call him when I was at uni.” (25-34, Female, UK
respondent)
However, there were also some examples of sexual
touching and behaviour from respondents who described
the event as invited or desired at the time, and only
understood the inappropriateness of the event when they
reflected on the experience as an adult.
“At the time I thought it was so cool. He was the
good-looking teacher in school. Looking back the
weird attention started in 2nd year. I was 13.” (Age
undisclosed, Female, Irish Respondent)
“At the time
I thought it
was so cool.
He was the
good-looking
teacher in
school. Looking
back the weird
attention
started in 2nd
year. I was 13.”
(Age undisclosed, Female, Irish Respondent)

An Exploratory Study on Teacher Perpetrated Sexual Misconduct in Irish and UK Secondary Schools
16
Identity of the
Person Responsible
for the Incident of
Harassment
Most respondents reported that the person in question
was a male teacher (90%), followed by a female teacher
(8%), and 2% reported that they experienced sexual
harassment by both a male and female teacher, or another
member of school sta whose gender was not disclosed.
Location of
harassment
Most incidents of sexual harassment took place on school
grounds (88%), with 12% occurring outside of the school
grounds (e.g., “school trip abroad”; “at our sixth form
leavers do”), after school (e.g., “He gave me a lift home and
it happened in his car”), while socialising (e.g., “at a friend’s
party”), or online (e.g., “via text messages/phone calls”).
How Did You
Respond to the
Incident?
The next follow up question asked respondents how they
reacted to this harassment situation. The most common
reactions to the harassment situation involved ignoring or
avoiding the teacher or treating the harassment incident
like a joke. (see Table 6)
Ireland UK
I ignored the teacher and did
nothing 31% 34%
I avoided the teacher as much
as possible 24% 24%
I treated it like a joke 25% 42%
I told the teacher to stop 4.5% 5%
I reported the teacher 0.9% 4%
I asked someone for advice
and/or support 2.7 3
Table 6. How respondents reacted to the incident of sexual
harassment that had the greatest eect on them
Impact on School
Participation
Approximately half of Irish respondents (47.3%) and
one third of UK respondents (33%) reported that the
sexual harassment that they experienced had a negative
influence on their participation in school or extra-curricular
events. A total of 43 Irish respondents and 74 UK
respondents provided qualitative responses to describe
how the incident impacted their live, as illustrated in the
following sections.
Avoiding classes
Most respondents reported that the incident(s)
significantly impacted their participation in school. Several
reported purposefully missing classes to avoid the teacher
in question, for example, one respondent said:
“[I] ended up getting grinds [private tutorials] and
missing his classes where I could.” (25-34, Female, Irish
respondent).
Several respondents reported that they withdrew from
topics that they enjoyed and/or were proficient in, in order
to avoid the teacher. One respondent reflected on how the
incident impacted their life:
“I was great at the subject which this teacher taught, I
chose not to study the topic in college because of his
behaviour and my desire to distance myself from the
memories. Now as an adult, I wonder how my life would
be had I studied a subject I had a natural talent for and
enjoyed, I could have had a great career in that area.”
(35-44, Female, Location undisclosed)

An Exploratory Study on Teacher Perpetrated Sexual Misconduct in Irish and UK Secondary Schools
17
Others reported that the incident influenced their
performance in school. For example, one respondent said
“It made me uncomfortable and embarrassed less able to
concentrate”, while another said “It made me feel like my
grades were aected by my appearance and that my looks
were more important than my work.” (age undisclosed,
Female, UK respondent)
Avoiding extra-curricular activities
Where the incident of harassment took place as part of
an extra-curricular activity, several respondents reported
feeling as though they had to withdraw from their activity
to avoid further incidents of harassment. For example, one
respondent said:
“Despite wanting to compete and being very good, I
avoided further events because of the fear it would
happen again. And as a subtle gesture to let the teacher
know I was not happy about it.” (25-34, Female, Irish
respondent)
Other Experiences
of Sexual
Harassment
There were some points of note in the qualitative
comments which did not map on to the four categories
of sexual harassment, but which would be remiss of us to
exclude, namely; (i) the commonality of sexual harassment,
and (ii) lack of reporting.
The Commonality of
Sexual Harassment
Several respondents reported that teacher-student sexual
harassment was a significant problem in their secondary
school. Many reported that harassment was common and
that it was accepted in the school. One respondent said:
“It wasn’t just one situation. It was multiple male
teachers across the 3 dierent secondary schools I
attended in [county] and [county]. It was rife and we
(redacted) students and sta, were told its just their
way, we’re too sensitive, kicking up a fuss would bring
them down on us harder.” (Age undisclosed, Female,
Irish respondent)
“Despite
wanting to
compete and
being very
good, I avoided
further events
because of the
fear it would
happen again.
And as a subtle
gesture to let
the teacher
know I was not
happy about it.”
(25-34, Female, Irish respondent)

An Exploratory Study on Teacher Perpetrated Sexual Misconduct in Irish and UK Secondary Schools
18
Reporting
Very few respondents reported the incident(s) of
harassment to the school. There was no indication in the
survey responses that any respondents made formal
complaints to An Garda —Síochána in Ireland or police in
the UK. Qualitative responses highlighted how, for the few
who had reported the incident to the school, nothing was
done about it. Some reports were believed, however, the
teacher remained in their position at the school. Others
were not believed and made out to be troublemakers, for
example:
“I openly was against this and brought it up to a higher
level of the school. [redacted]. After the incident,
[redacted] I was removed from my position in [team/
group] due to ‘spreading inflammatory and rude
information about a sta member’.” (18-24, Gender not
disclosed, Irish respondent).
Closing Statement
Schools largely play a powerful and positive role in young
peoples’ lives and futures. Schools can continue to support
young people by changing school culture regarding the
acceptance of sexual harassment, make trauma-informed
support services widely available and accessible, and
embed strict punishments for sta and students who
violate school policy and laws on harassment.
To that end, it is essential for future research to be carried
out in this area to gain a clearer understanding of the
prevalence of sexual harassment in secondary schools
in Ireland and the UK. More data on this topic is required
in order to inform the support services and preventative
measures that can be put in place nationwide to reduce
the prevalence of this issue, and to provide the needed
support to victims of harassment in secondary school.
“...it is essential
for future
research to
be carried out
in this area to
gain a clearer
understanding
of the
prevalence
of sexual
harassment
in secondary
schools in
Ireland and
the UK.”

An Exploratory Study on Teacher Perpetrated Sexual Misconduct in Irish and UK Secondary Schools
19
Support Services
If you are aected by any of the issues raised in this
survey, a list of organisations that may be able to
provide help and advice, if you need it, can be found
here:
Text 50808
Free 24/7 Support in a Crisis - Text ‘HELLO’ to 50808
https://text50808.ie/
Samaritans
National Helpline - 116 123
https://www.samaritans.org/ireland/samaritans-ireland/
Dublin Rape Crisis Centre
24-hour helpline - 1800 77 8888
https://www.drcc.ie/Your local Rape Crisis Centre/
Network https://www.rapecrisishelp.ie/find-a-service/
HSE
Sexual Assault Treatment Units (SATUs)
https://www2.hse.ie/services/sexual-assault-treatment-
units/rape-sexual-assault-where-to-get-help.html
Sexual Assault Treatment Units
https://www2.hse.ie/sexual-assault-treatment-units/
Women’s Aid
24-hour helpline - 1800 341 900
https://www.womensaid.ie/
Men’s Aid
National Confidential Helpline - 01 554 3811
https://www.mensaid.ie/
Your local Gardaí
https://www.garda.ie/en/crime/sexual-crime/
HSE My Options
Freephone - 1800 828 010
https://www2.hse.ie/unplanned-pregnancy/
LGBT Ireland
National Helpline - 1890 929 539
https://lgbt.ie/
You may want to check here for any other support
services not listed above.
https://www.consenthub.ie/get-help/
United Kingdom
The Counselling Helpline (UK)
Call: 0808 802 2088
Rape Crisis England and Wales
Call: 0808 802 9999
Rape Crisis Scotland
Call: 08088 01 03 02
Text: 07537 410 027
Email: support@rapecrisisscotland.org.uk
Call 999 in an emergency or 101 for a non-emergency
query
If you wish to report any experiences or seek advice
further legal advice regarding the information you reported
in this survey please contact The Police (999/101)
References
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R, MacNeela, P (2020). The Active*Consent and Union
of Students in Ireland Sexual Experiences Survey 2020:
Sexual Violence and Harassment Experiences in a
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University of Galway.
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Fitzgerald, L.F., Shullman, S.L., Bailey, N., Richards, M.,
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Nukulkij, P. (2011). AAUW Knowledge Networks:
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www.aauw.org/files/2013/02/crossing-the-line-
harassment-atschool-survey- methodology.pdf
Swartout, K. M., Flack, W. F., Cook, S. L., Olson, L. N.,
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July 2023 (V1)