One in six girls experience unwanted sexual behavior at school

About one in six Dutch girls and young women aged 13 to 25 have experienced unwanted sexual behavior at school or in education. This is one of the results of a representative survey by Ipsos I&O among 1,060 school-going girls and young women in this age category. The international children’s rights organization Plan International commissioned the study.

Of the respondents, 43 percent say they do not know where to report unwanted behavior. This results in this type of behavior rarely being officially reported, Ipsos said. That does not mean victims don’t talk about their experiences: about two-thirds confide in someone, often a friend.

Most victims of sexually transgressive behavior experienced unwanted sexually suggestive remarks, questions, or flirtatious “jokes.” Almost one in five victims in the survey say they were molested at school or in education - they were touched or groped inappropriately.

Many victims of transgressive behavior say that their experiences leave them with feelings of shame, fear, or uncertainty. Some also change their behavior. For example, one participant who received unwanted comments about her curves said that she then tried to hide herself in loose-fitting clothing. “When this didn’t work, I started eating less and less and developed an eating disorder.”

In addition to the girls who said that they experienced unwanted sexual behavior, there is also a group saying they are uncertain. It concerns almost one in ten participants in the study. They are unsure whether their experience falls under transgressive sexual behavior, for example, because they did not experience the behavior as very intense or because they don’t think the person in question had bad intentions. “I may have misunderstood it,” said one respondent.

According to Garance Reus-Deelder, the director of Plan International in the Netherlands, unwanted sexual behavior has serious consequences for the mental health and school performance of girls and young women. “Education is a powerful tool to increase equal opportunities, but unwanted sexual behavior undermines the opportunities for girls. This is unacceptable.”