In higher education
In their 2006 report, "Drawing the Line: Sexual Harassment on Campus" the AAUW found physical and emotional effects from sexual harassment on female students:
68% of female students felt very or somewhat upset by sexual harassment they experienced;
6% were not at all upset.
57% of female students who have been sexually harassed reported feeling self-conscious or embarrassed
55% of female students who have been sexually harassed reported feeling angry.
32% of female students who have been sexually harassed reported feeling afraid or scared.
The AAUW also found that sexual harassment affects academics and achievement:
Students experience a wide range of effects from sexual harassment that impact their academic development including: have trouble sleeping, loss of appetite, decreased participation in class, avoid a study group, think about changing schools, change schools, avoid the library, change major, not gone to a professor/ teaching assistant's office hours. Students may experience multiple effects or just one. The wide range of experiences lowers the percentage of students who experience any particular effect.
16% of female students who have been sexually harassed found it hard to study or pay attention in class.
9% of female students dropped a course or skipped a class in response to sexual harassment.
27% of female students stay away from particular buildings or places on campus as a result of sexual harassment.
In the same 2006 report, the AAUW also found effects from sexual harassment on male and LGBT students:
35% of male college students reported feeling very or somewhat upset about being sexually harassed.
61% of male students reported feeling not very upset or not at all upset about experiencing sexual harassment.
20% of male students reported feeling worried about sexual harassment, to some extent.
60% of LGBT college students who were sexually harassed tried to avoid their harasser.
24% of LGBT college students who were sexually harassed had difficulties paying attention in class and studying.
17% of LGBT college students who had experienced sexual harassment have considered transferring to a different school and 9% made the transfer.
In K-12 education
Studies have shown that if the sexual harassment was done by a male, both male and female victims experienced behavioral problems, in contrast to if the female was the perpetrator, where the behavioral problems occurred less. Being absent from school frequently, having difficulties concentrating on school work, and performing poorly on academic work often result. In a 2011 nationwide survey conducted by the AAUW of 7th-12th grade students, 32% of students who had experienced sexual harassment did not want to return to school after it occurred. This included 37% of female students and 25% of male students. 31% of the surveyed students felt physically sick after being sexually harassed, with 37% of females and 21% of males reporting this effect. 30% of students had difficulties studying and focusing on school as a result of sexual harassment including 34% of females and 24% of males, and 19% of students reported having a difficult time sleeping due to sexual harassment, including 22% of females and 14% of males. Other effects include getting into trouble at school, changing the route in which one gets to and from school, and stopping doing activities and sports.
By teachers
A reanalysis of the AAUW data found that victims of sexual harassment by teachers reported experiencing adverse health effects because of the abuse. 28% said that they had trouble sleeping and lost their appetite, 51% reported feeling embarrassed, and 37% indicated that they felt less sure of themselves or less confident as a result of the sexual harassment. Furthermore, 36% of the students said that they were afraid or scared and 29% reported feeling confused about their identity. In addition to negatively affecting health outcomes, teacher sexual abuse influenced the victims' academic performance. The affected students avoided the teacher (43%), they did not want to go to school (36%), avoided talking in class (34%), had trouble paying attention (31%), cut classes (29%), or found it hard to study (29%).
The gender double standard
Some sources have discussed a double standard regarding the conduct of female versus male teachers. When it comes to sexual harassment or sexual abuse cases involving a male teacher as the perpetrator to a female student, severe punishments are often the result. According to David Ring, a lawyer working with sexual abuse cases, it is not uncommon for the male teachers to be convicted, face jail time, or owe partial civil damages to the student victim depending on the severity of the case. When a female teacher is the perpetrator of sexual harassment to a male student, there are arguments that the female teachers are given lighter sentences and the male victims are given lower amounts of compensation due to the reasoning that teenage males would be willing to have sexual encounters with older, female teachers as a response to changes in their hormones.
It has been argued that the effects of pupil-teacher sexual harassment vary depending on the gender of the student and the harasser. In some states in the U.S., sexual relations between a woman and an underage male did not even constitute statutory rape until the 1970s. Many assert that most boys would be happy to have a teacher show sexual interest in them. While the effects vary from student to student, evidence shows that both male and female victims exhibit similar psychological effects from pupil-teacher sexual harassment. In the long term, experts have suggested that victims experience issues with depression, addiction, and age-appropriate relationships.