SEXUAL HARASSMENT OF FEMALE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS AND THEIR PARENTS’ REACTION: POLITICAL RIGHTS OF WOMEN, LAW, EDUCATION, AND GOOD CHARACTER CHALLENGES IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

The current study explored the sexual harassment of female university students and their parents’ reaction: Political rights of women, law, education, and good character challenges in Pakistan. A qualitative research design and inductive reasoning method were used. A convenient sampling technique was applied to approach the sample of twenty female volunteer participants studied in the different government and private universities of Lahore, Pakistan. Their age ranges varied from 19-25 years, and they enrolled in the first to eighth semesters in the social and management sciences departments. Demographic information sheets and in-depth semi-structured interview protocols were used to collect data. The findings of the content analysis indicated the seven following major themes (1) the experience of sexual harassment, (2) the coping strategies of the victims, (3) the reaction of the parents after disclosing the incidents of sexual harassment by their daughters, (4) reconciliation of parents to let the daughters complete their education (5) consequences of the sexual harassment (6) rehabilitation strategies (7) how to reduce the phenomena of sexual harassment from the campuses, victim perspectives. The study's implications will be discussed in the cultural context of Pakistan.