School safety, security, and violence prevention resource

I just completed a couple back-to-back trainings for educational personnel in Lancaster, Pa., so, with those courses still humming in my brain, I thought, What the Hell, why not wax philosophical about that?, so, like it or not, I am about to share some tips for any student or teacher who might face the troubling specter of what my SHARP (Sexual Harassment Assault and Rape Prevention) program considers Professional and/or Personal Harassment? 

 

First things first.  Let me clarify the profile of a victim of  harassment when compared to other victim-types I have written about in past posts. The ideal target of a sexual predator will be what SHARP calls a Passive Personality Type.  She will habitually allow men and women to invade her PSZ (Personal Safety Zone) without protest; she will exhibit a halting, restricted walking style, and she will be woefully unaware of her surroundings, keeping her eyes cast down much of the time.  There are similarities in the victims of Chicken Hawks – adult men who prey on children – and even teenage bullying.  But, when it comes to Professional Harassment, although the passive woman is still the ideal target, often the victim is selected because he/she appeals to the harasser.

 

SHARP describes three other types of girl/ woman/boy/man in relationship to incidences of Personal and Professional Harassment, rapes and assaults.  The Confrontational Type is loud, abrasive, and has no problem with dominating males and females in the workplace.  He/She is hardly ever chosen as a target for sexual assault or harassment, although she may be assaulted because of her abrasive personality.  The Assertive Personality Type oozes self confidence and self esteem, and although she respects the feelings of others, when it comes to harassment, she responds quickly with an “I don’t have time for the crap.  Get it out of my face now!” attitude.  The Defensive Personality is normally non-combative, verbally or physically, by nature.  But, when her back is against the wall, or someone close to her is threatened (children), she will fight back.  Along with the Passive Personality Type, the Defensive Personality may often find herself in the grip of some tedious and stressful situation in or around the educational setting, including, inappropriate and unwanted sexual innuendoes, comments; uninvited comments; lewd and lascivious pictures or posters, and, perhaps most vexing and threatening, uninvited and unwanted touching or flirtatious contact.

 

These Passive Assaults are never truly harmless, and, depending on the victim, can have a lasting impact throughout his or her life.  Not only that, unchecked harassment can turn physical, perhaps beginning with a harasser grooming his or her victim by picking imaginary lint off clothing, etc., all the way to grabbing the victim’s wrists and pulling him or her toward a blind spot in the environment (surveillance cameras) or blocking his or her victim’s movement or egress, perhaps even standing in a spot close to the victim where that person is forced to rub against him or her in order to exit that area.

 

STOP PROFESSIONAL HARASSMENT NOW!

 

CORRECTING PROFESSIONAL Harassment should always begin as soon as the harassment starts.  A tactful verbal reprimand immediately following an unwelcome advance will often stop any future behavior.  According to PPCT Management Systems, Inc., the type of verbal reprimand will depend upon where the harassment takes place and from whom the harassment comes.  If this fails, the threat of a complaint to his superior may be all that is necessary.  In the event that you must go to the supervisor you may want to make sure that the supervisor understands that he/she must provide a safe and harassment free work environment by law.  Of course, not all (professional) harassment comes in a schoolroom where there is an obvious chain-of-command to turn to.  I am sure that there are nurses, teachers, airline flight attendants, real estate agents, consultants and anyone who is required to make service call to clients who are seriously harassed yet have no obvious superior to turn to.  For these situations, it is crucial to have an immediate, well thought out response that tactfully puts him in his place without him losing face in the process (a strategy that is almost always overlooked by the Confrontation Personality Type).

 

PERSONAL HARASSMENT is almost always directed toward a personwho is perceived as a weaker personality and someone who will not defend herself.  This type of male usually takes on the personality of a bully.  Personal harassment is usually directed toward a woman’s personal character and can be much more vexing to deal with.  It comes in the form of verbal needling, belittling in front of others, and usually escalates to verbal and physical threats, which should be handles by law enforcement, by the way.  MANAGING PERSONAL HARASSMENT should begin with a change in a woman’s demeanor.  I know this is hard to do, but, to resolve this, it must be done:

1. Decide you are no longer willing to put up with the abuse.
2. This in effect will change to physical aura to I’ve had enough crap, Dude!
3. Prepare a verbal response which is appropriate for the nature of the verbal assault(s) and the environment in which it occurs.
4. Be aggressive in your response and be prepared not to back down unless you perceive your physical safety is in jeopardy.
5. Remember, the idiot with whom you are dealing is a bully and will not stop the abuse as long as there is resistance.

 

Next Post:  Physical Safety and Survival (The Fighting Arts) Strategies against Personal and Professional Harassment Gone Too Far (Passive Assaults).  Until then, Stay Safe.

 

Hammer

 

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