Sexual Harassment and Effect on Students’ Self-Esteem in Selected Public and Private Secondary Schools in Kenya

Naom Kemuma Ondicho ,Kevin N Kombo ,Felicita W Njuguna

doi:10.7176/jep/10-21-06

Abstract

Sexual Harassment (SH) is a global phenomenon and a pervasive problem that affects thousands of students in learning institutions daily yet there are few studies exploring its effect on students’ self-esteem especially from the Kenyan context. Sexual harassment is also considered a risk factor for lifelong problems including psychological ill-health and poor self-esteem. The purpose of this study was to describe and explore sexual harassment in and its effect on students’ self-esteem. The study was done in selected public and private secondary schools in 2 purposively sampled Counties in Kenya. The study was guided by a theoretical framework based on Finkelhor and Browne’s Traumagenic Dynamics Model. The design of the study was descriptive survey targeting 23,659 students, 88 Deputy Principals and 88 Heads of G/C. Samples were obtained through purposive and proportionate simple random sampling. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected using a School Sexual Harassment Questionnaire (SSHQ), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), interview and Focus Group Discussion (FGDs) guides. Content validity was determined by seeking expert judgments. Cronbach alpha technique was used to measure the reliability of the research instruments. Quantitative data were analyzed both descriptively and inferentially using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) while qualitative data were analyzed based on emerging themes and presented in narrative and verbatim forms. Findings indicated that verbal sexual harassment had a significant effect on students’ self-esteem whereas effects of physical and visual sexual harassment were not statistically significant. Keywords: Sexual harassment, forms, students’ self-esteem, effect DOI : 10.7176/JEP/10-21-06 Publication date :July 31 st 2019

Highlights

It is believed that students face different forms of maltreatment while in school some of which are sexual in nature (Wei & Chen, 2011)
The results indicate that 69(25.5%) students were of the view that physical sexual harassment affected their esteem to a moderate extent and 98(36.2%) students to a small extent
Based on the findings, it can be concluded that sexual harassment of diverse forms is a common occurrence in public and private secondary schools in Kenya

Summary

Introduction

It is believed that students face different forms of maltreatment while in school some of which are sexual in nature (Wei & Chen, 2011). Kenya’s Ministry of Education (MOE) defines sexual harassment as unwanted and unwelcome behaviours of a sexual nature that cause discomfort to the targeted person. These behaviours include words, persistent requests for sexual favours, gestures, touch, suggestions, coerced sexual intercourse and rape (MOE, 2001) all of which are risk factors for lifelong problems among students including psychological ill-health and poor self-esteem (Witt et al, 2018, Dahlqvist et al, 2016). Empirical studies have established that SH is a near epidemic in schools across the globe (Chang, Hayter, & Lin, 2010). The incident which took place inside the washrooms at night at Moi Nairobi Girls Secondary School negatively impacted both the victims and the rest of the student body leading to temporary closure of the school

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion