Perception, Prevalence and Awareness of Sexual Harassment among University Students in Abbottabad

Adnan Ahmad Dogar Et Al

doi:10.17762/pae.v58i1.869

Abstract

Policy guidelines against sexual harassment in institutions of Higher Learning were introduced in 128 public sector universities across Pakistan in January 2011. However, there has been an increase in the number of reported cases of sexual harassment that became prominent in mainstream media, so the institutional mechanism and the official definition of sexual harassment still needs a lot of clarity. The study aims to investigate the perception, prevalence and awareness of sexual harassment among university students along with possible causes of underreporting of the incidents of sexual harassment. Stratified random sampling and purposive sampling were used for data collection from students and members of sexual harassment committees respectively. The research findings revealed that sexual harassment at campus is a common phenomenon although majority of the cases go unreported owing to different institutional and cultural constraints. Instead of reporting to university administration, students adopt self adjustment mechanism by reducing the stay at campus or reducing the possibility of contact with males. There is dire need of more awareness sessions about what is sexual harassment and what students can do to deal with it.

Highlights

Sexual harassment can be defined as “unwanted sex-related behaviors that are appraised by the recipient as offensive and that exceed one‟s coping resources or threaten one‟s well-being
There has been an increase in the number of reported cases of sexual harassment that became prominent in mainstream media, so the institutional mechanism and the official definition of sexual harassment still needs a lot of clarity
While analyzing the definitions of the sexual harassment and what students think does not qualify as sexual harassment in their context, it is evident that student‟s realities are constructed in a certain socio-cultural background with firmly defined boundaries

Summary

Introduction

Sexual harassment can be defined as “unwanted sex-related behaviors that are appraised by the recipient as offensive and that exceed one‟s coping resources or threaten one‟s well-being. This includes unwelcome verbal and non-verbal sexual behaviors, as well as undesired physical behaviors that the target finds difficult to cope with or to handle”. In social science the term is defined in three subtypes of sexual harassment behaviors: gender harassment, unwanted sexual attention, and sexual coercion (Schneider, Pryor, & Fitzgerald, 2010). Unwanted sexual attention is considered any unwanted sexual behavior that is deemed offensive to the target. Hostile environment claims frequently involve gender harassment and unwanted sexual attention. Targets report harassment from peers, bosses, and subordinates (DeSouza, 2011), random strangers on the street, and people of the same or opposite sex (Street, Gradus, Stafford, & Kelly, 2007)

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