Survey Finds 4 in 5 Suffer Sex Harassment at School : Education: Students in grades 8 to 12 mostly pin blame on classmates, but some cite adults. Results indicate ‘epidemic,’ women’s group says.

Four in five American teen-agers have experienced some form of sexual harassment at school, while 1 in 10 said that he or she had been forced to commit a sexual act, beyond kissing, during school hours, according to a new survey released today.

While the majority of teen-agers have suffered the harassment from schoolmates, one-fourth of the girls and a tenth of the boys said that they had been harassed by school employees, the survey said.

The survey, said to be the first nationwide effort to determine the level of sexual harassment in schools, was conducted by the American Assn. of University Women. Surveyors from Louis Harris & Associates questioned 1,600 public school students in grades 8 to 12 from 79 schools across the continental United States.

They employed a broad definition of sexual harassment, asking “has anyone done the following things to you when you did not want them to:” made sexual comments, jokes, gestures or looks; written sexual messages or graffiti; spread sexual rumors about you; touched, grabbed or pinched you in a sexual way; spied on you as you dressed or showered at school; pulled your clothing off; forced a kiss; “mooned” you; or forced you to “do something sexual, other than kissing.”

The organization said that the findings provide evidence that the problem of sexual harassment in schools has reached “epidemic” proportions.

Furthermore, said Sharon Schuster, president of the association and chairwoman of its board of directors: “Adults, by not recognizing the problem, have allowed it to flourish.”

While sexual harassment in the workplace is outlawed by the 1991 Civil Rights Act, which provides up to $300,000 in damage awards for victims, California is one of only a few states to address sexual harassment in schools. On Jan. 1, school officials were given the authority to suspend or expel students in grades 4 through 12 who sexually harass a classmate.

Sexual harassment at school--both verbal and physical--can have a serious impact on its victims, especially girls, and can damage their self-esteem as well as affect their school work, the survey showed.

Nearly a quarter of girls who reported harassment said that the incidents had caused them to stay home from school or cut class. Others said that it hurt their grades and hindered their ability to concentrate on their work. Twenty-four percent said that the experience had made them fearful, while 39% said that they had been “very upset” by it.

For others, however, unwanted sexual advances are an accepted part of school life.

Sixty-six percent of the boys and 52% of the girls admitted to sexually harassing other students and 92% of these boys and 98% of these girls said that they have been victims of harassment themselves.

When asked why they do it, 41% of the boys and 31% of the girls checked this response: “It’s just a part of school life/A lot of people do it/It’s no big deal.”

One 14-year-old boy said: “People do this stuff every day. No one feels insulted by it. We just play around. I think sexual harassment is normal.”

Two-thirds of the girls and 49% of the boys said that they were harassed often or occasionally.

Hallways and classrooms were named most frequently as places where harassment occurred. Others cited school grounds, school cafeterias and school buses. Many more boys than girls said that locker rooms and restrooms were the places where they were accosted. A quarter of the harassed boys said that they were targeted in locker rooms and 14% said they were targeted in restrooms.

The survey consisted of responses from students in randomly selected classrooms. Representatives of the polling firm visited each class, distributing the questionnaires and observing as students filled them out anonymously before placing them in sealed envelopes and handing them back to the Harris employee. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points

Reacting to the study, Laurel Kanthak of the National Assn. of Secondary School Principals said that schools must take a more active role in preventing sexual harassment and in teaching children “what behavior is appropriate and what is not appropriate.”

“The problem is not so much that children are harassed in school, it’s that women are harassed generally in our society,” Kanthak said. “Children simply are imitating the behavior they see in all aspects of American life.”

Leslie Copeland of the American Counseling Assn., said that counselors customarily alert school authorities whenever they receive reports of such harassment.