Sexual Harassment: University Students' Perceptions and Reactions

Abstract

This study investigates sexual harassment. In the first section of the study, it is aimed to determine what kind of sexual harassment they face, in which contexts they face this harassment, and the feelings and the reactions they reveal when they face sexual harassment. The second section tries to find out why some people do not show any reactions when they face sexual harassment and investigate these people" reasons why they do so. The findings indicate that the majority of the university students face sexual harassment through being gazed (60.69%) and being touched (45.48%) without their consent. It is seen that sexual harassment mostly occurs in unknown contexts (49.12%) and social contexts with friends (39.14%). When an individual face sexual harassment, of the feelings, the most intensive ones are determined to be anger (57.36%), sorrow (42.94%) and embarrassment (40.25). When the reactions to the sexual harassment are considered, it is found out that 69.59% of the university students did not anything. The qualitative findings on why they did not do anything regarding sexual harassment they faced indicate that they did not do anything due to several reasons: being misunderstood by others (96.56%), worrying about being blamed (92.04%), self-blame (51.13) and being disgraced/falling into disrepute (35.22). The results reveal that both men and women face sexual harassment, that it is also commonplace among the university students, and that the victims do not show any reactions though they have feelings such as anger, sorrow, and embarrassment. Among the most commonly stated reasons why any reaction does not occur are the perceptions and social pressure towards social and sexual roles, the way people are raised and the feeling that they have deserved it