Hostile environments that include bullying, cyberbullying, harassment, hate speech, and hate crimes are on the rise. Also physical attacks, rape, sexual assault, and victimization. This is going on country’s public school system. Moreover, this is a new report from the Government Accountability Office did conclude.
Hostile Environments – Nearly Every School
Bullying has occurred in almost every school in general. It has taken place about 1 in 5 students for ages 12 to 18 that were bullied during the 2017-18 school year. This is based on the most recent data that is available.
The report did find that 1 in 4 has experienced bullying that is related to their race. It pertains to 5.2 million students that are bullied. It is also related to national origin, religion, disability, gender, or sexual orientation. Moreover, the report from the nonpartisan investigation and auditing arm of Congress does show.
For about 5.8 million 12- to 18-year-olds, even more, students did see the hate words or symbols that were written at school during the same school year. It does include racial and homophobic slurs, also anti-Semitic slurs and symbols, that referenced lynching and the Holocaust, and anti-immigrant rhetoric.
Hate Crimes Almost Doubled
The number of hate crimes in school and the number of schools that is where is at least one hate crime did occur. It almost did double from the 2015-16 school year to the 2017-18 school year. This is what the GAO report did find. Sexual assaults did increase by an estimated 17% during the same time period. Though there are a number of rapes or attempted rapes, roughly1,000, stayed at the same.
Physical Attacks
The GAO report, in addition, found that the number of physical attacks in schools with and without weapons did increase. The number of attacks with weapons did nearly double. Although attacks with weapons were still much less commonplace than those without the weapons.
There are schools across the county that are responding to the uptick in the hostile environments. This is what the GAO did report. In fact, it was a lack of action that was taken by school officials in Utah’s Davis School District.
