Autumn says three female classmates at her middle school in suburban Seattle spread rumors that she was a liar, a whore and a cheat. Autumn's story is quite common in schools nationwide. Roughly 80 percent of students are sexually harassed by their peers, according to a number of surveys of sexual harassment in 6th through 12th grades taken since 1993. The alleged harassment runs the gamut, from verbal abuse to unwanted grabbing and touching. And it's not just boys harassing girls.
Experts say girls can be just as sexually harassing as boys.
The U.S. Supreme Court is now deciding for the first time whether schools can be held liable when students sexually harass their peers. A decision is expected by this summer. A 1993 study by the American Association of University of Women that surveyed 1,600 kids nationwide found that 76 percent of boys and 85 percent of girls have been harassed. More recent surveys, though less scientific, have found similar results. As legal counsel for the National School Boards Association and one of the defendants in the Supreme Court case, Julie Underwood says peer harassment is nothing more than a discipline issue.