Lesson video

Hello, I am Mrs. Smith, and welcome to this next lesson for this unit of work, Respectful relationships.

In this lesson, we will learn about sexual harassment and how it can possibly occur in different contexts or environments.

This lesson may contain some content that is a sensitive topic for you.

We recommend checking with a parent or carer before you begin or getting a trusted adult to sit nearby whilst you complete the lesson.

If you are ready, then let's begin.

So, for this lesson, you are going to need an exercise book or paper and a pen to write with.

If you need to go and collect this equipment now, pause the video and press play when you're ready to resume.

The agenda for today's lesson looks like this.

We will start by discussing a definition of sexual harassment.

And then consider different contexts or environments that this might take place.

We will then move on to look at setting boundaries and finish with a reflection and exit quiz.

Our key key words for today's lesson are; Sexual, relating to instincts and activities connected with intimate physical contact between individuals.

Harassment, a pattern of obsessive behaviour which is repeated intrusive and causes fear of violence or distress in a victim.

And finally, boundaries.

Limits you can set on what you will accept from another person's words or actions.

Using the definitions from the beginning of the lesson, can you create your own definition of sexual harassment? Pause the video now to have a go at this activity.

Press play, when you're ready to compare our answers.

What is sexual harassment? It is unwanted conduct of a sexual nature which has the purpose or effect of violating someone's dignity, humiliating them or creating an offensive environment for them.

As you can see, sexual harassment is possibly more broad than you previously thought.

And it can encompass many things that often people have been encouraged to think are okay but ultimately they are not okay.

I'm going to share a scenario with you now regarding Izzy.

Whilst we are reading this together, I would like you to see if you can spot any examples of sexual harassment using the definition that we have just discussed.

Pause the video at any point to make a note of any examples that you can see.

Izzy and her friends have decided to go shopping.

They meet at the bus stop and they catch the 256 into town.

They sit on the back row and Izzy notices an older man standing at the front.

He winks at her.

She doesn't like it, but Izzy's friends laugh it off.

They gets off the bus and they walk to their favourite shops.

A car drives past them and the girls can hear Wolf whistles and jeers.

Izzy pulls her coat closer around her as she walks.

They finally get to their favourite shop and they have a look around.

Whilst Izzy is looking at t-shirts a man walks past and taps her on the bottom.

She quickly turns around, but he has already walked away with his girlfriend.

Izzy asks her friend if they mind, if she goes home.

Pause the video now and make a note of any examples of sexual harassment that you can see in this scenario.

Let's now compare our answers.

So, if we take the first part of the story with Izzy and her friends getting the bus, we can see here that a man winks at her.

And Izzy has stated that she doesn't like it.

This is clear, unwanted attention that is making Izzy feel humiliated or uncomfortable.

In the second part of the story Izzy and her friends are walking down the streets, when they hear Wolf whistles and jeers.

There is another example here of Izzy, feeling uncomfortable with the unwanted behaviour that she has been given.

And she physically shows this by tightening her coat around her.

In the final part of the story, we see Izzy and her friends in their favourite shop.

And Izzy received some unwanted sexual behaviour here by being tapped on the bottom.

Clearly this makes the environment uncomfortable for Izzy to be in, as she approaches her friends and tells them that she is going to go home.

These are once again, examples of sexual harassments.

And if we go back to our original definition, we can see that it can be anything that makes you feel uncomfortable and that you have not consented to.

A true or false statement here for you.

Izzy should feel flattered.

She's getting lots of nice attention.

Is this true or false? Point to the screen, now.

This statement is false.

These are all examples of harassment and they are unwanted behaviours that have made Izzy feel humiliated and uncomfortable.

It would be right for Izzy to speak out against all of the examples that we have seen in this scenario.

For this next part of the lesson, we are going to have a look at some examples of sexual harassment in different contexts or environments.

Before we begin pause the video and think of any contexts or environments that you come into contact with.

So, for example, one environments might be, school.

Pause the video now to see if you can add to this list.

So, let us now compare our lists.

We started with the environment of the school.

But you might also have included places like work, online, extracurricular clubs, your local community, or at an event.

These are all day to day contexts that we all experience in our lives.

Unfortunately, sometimes even in the most routine of places sexual harassment can take place.

Please remember that these environments are just examples.

Just because we are using these examples, does not mean you should expect harassment to occur there.

Similarly, sexual harassment may take place in other environments too.

What I would like you to do now is read through the list of examples that are on the screen.

I would like you to march then with the different contexts that we have discussed.

So, if we take our example of school to begin with, which of the following scenarios could you match with the environment of school? We would match this second one.

Someone stroking your knee in a science class with the environment of school.

Pause the video now and match up the remaining environments with the scenarios on the screen.

Press play, when you're ready to go through the answers.

We shall now compare our answers.

Now, we did the school environment together on the previous slide.

But what did you match up with at work? An example of sexual harassment at work might include someone having a calendar on their desk, which displays naked images.

This could create an offensive environment for you.

An example online might include, someone sending you naked photographs that you did not ask for, and an example at an extracurricular club might be someone offering private tuition while stroking your hands.

This could make you feel intimidated or uncomfortable.

Our next example, when you are out in your local community might include someone Wolf whistling, while you walk down the streets.

And our final example for being at an event might be someone approaching you and asking you to go upstairs by whispering in your ear.

This again might make you feel uncomfortable, possibly humiliated, and an uncomfortable environment for you to be in.

Recent research has shown that 81% of women and 43% of men have experienced some sort of sexual harassment in their lifetime.

This was derived from the campaign Me Too that took place in 2017.

Where individuals spoke out about their own personal sexual harassment experiences.

Therefore, we must look at how and why we should create boundaries.

Creating boundaries and challenging unwanted attention will protect yourself from those who are willing to overstep.

If you saw a friend getting unwanted attention at a party and they kept looking over at you for help what would you do? Would you challenge this unwanted attention? And if so, how? Reflect on those questions for a moment and press play when you're ready to resume.

Some possible options to help, depending on the situation could include, sorry, my friend is coming to dance with me now, we'll have to say goodbye.

Or sorry to interrupt my dad is on his way, it's time for us to go home now.

And finally it could be something like, my friend is too polite to say, but I think you are making her uncomfortable.

She's coming with me now.

These are all possible options and it is a good idea to have an option set up previously so that you are prepared if a situation like this took place.

For your activity, I would like you to create a script in order to challenge unwanted attention in any of the scenarios that we have looked at.

This preparation of having a way to go about challenging the attention will help you in scenarios, if you are unsure and also if the attention ever makes you nervous.

Press pause and create your script on your piece of paper.

Press play, when you're ready to carry on.

We shall now and the lesson with a reflection.

Sexual harassment is unwanted conduct of a sexual nature, which has the purpose or effect of violating someone's dignity.

Sexual harassment can take place in many different contexts and environments, including online at work or in school.

Thank you for joining me for this lesson.

You have an exit quiz to complete.

If you would like to share any of your work with us online please ask a parent or carer and use the hashtag Learn with Oak.

Thank you again and I will see you very soon, goodbye.