#MeToo in school: Teachers’ and Young Learners’ Lived Experience of Verbal Sexual Harassment as a Pedagogical Opportunity

Abstract

Based on a case study of verbal sexual harassment experienced by a young female teacher and her 17-year-old student in a Norwegian upper secondary school, this article addresses challenges and strengths of drawing upon negative experiences of ‘lived injustice’ in class, arguing that such experiences can serve as a resource for education about, through and for human rights. Complementing this case study, we discuss a survey we have conducted among secondary school students (N=382), concerning how young learners report being sexually harassed and how often they experience that an adult intervenes in the situation. Combining the theoretical framework of human rights education (HRE) and the concepts of intersectionality and recognition, this article discusses the pedagogical potential of drawing upon teachers’ and young learners’ experiences of verbal sexual harassment.