Peer sexual harassment: incidence and emotional reaction in a sample of 4th year students in obligatory secondary education

The purpose of this paper was to explore peer sexual harassment in adolescence. 283 students (53% boys, 47% girls) between 15 and 17 years of age completed an anonymous questionnaire designed to obtain information about the incidence of victimization and perpetration during the previous year, and the emotional response to recent episodes. Results indicate that sexual harassment related behaviors are part of the interactions among adolescents, since most of participants have been involved in some situation of peer sexual harassment (89.4%). Although boys and girls are victims to the same extent, boys are more likely to commit sexual harassment than girls. Moreover, girls reported feeling worse in specific episodes. Finally, data also underscore the need for additional research in patterns of sexual victimization among adolescents that allows us to design future interventions that promote the wellbeing in interpersonal relationships.