The Los Angeles Times recently published the results of a survey that found that four out of five teenagers experience sexual harassment at school. One in ten students said they had been forced to commit a sexual act during school hours. The researchers say the findings provide evidence that sexual harassment in schools has reached "epidemic" proportions. Professional training programs now ten years after the sexual harassment ban and the well-publicized Thomas hearings begin with myths and facts about sexual harassment or pre-tests on knowledge of bans against the activity. These tests still rate “true” for answers to myths such as: “Women working in a predominantly male job should expect to live with foul language and dirty jokes” or “Only certain types of men harass female workers.” Sexual harassment, a form of sex discrimination, violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and, in the employment context, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended in 1991. Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when the submission or refusal of such conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment or education, interferes unreasonably with an individual's work or academic performance or creates an unstable, intimidating, hostile, or offensive work or educational environment. Sexual harassment can occur in a variety of circumstances. The victim as well as the harasser can be a woman or a man. The victim must not be of the opposite sex. The victim could be anyone affected by the offensive conduct. ...... half of the document ...... invention and defense of claims. A program to eliminate sexual harassment in the workplace is not only required by law, but it is the most practical way to avoid or limit harm should harassment occur despite all preventative efforts. Unfortunately, “boys” will continue to “be boys” and so will girls. laws/vii.htmlwww.dfeh.ca.govKing & Barlow, Sexual Harassment: When Quick Response May Not Be Enough to Prevent, 1999Brower & Associates, Sexual Harassment Prevention Training, 1999Parham & Rajcic, Sex and Power in Schools, 1996Liebert , Cassidy & Frierson, In Search of the Facts: Harassment Investigations School Policy Legal Insider, April 1999 Equal Opportunities Commission: Policy Guidelines on Sexual Harassment, 1990