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

Main Article Content

WAHIDA ANJUM, JAVERIA JAHANGIR, GULSHAN FATIMA ALVI, MUHAMMAD RAMZAN, SAEED AHMAD WATTO

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.

Article Details

Section
Articles
Author Biography

WAHIDA ANJUM, JAVERIA JAHANGIR, GULSHAN FATIMA ALVI, MUHAMMAD RAMZAN, SAEED AHMAD WATTO

*1DR. WAHIDA ANJUM, 2 DR. JAVERIA JAHANGIR, 3DR. GULSHAN FATIMA ALVI, 4DR. MUHAMMAD RAMZAN, 5 DR. SAEED AHMAD WATTO

1Assistant Professor/ HOD, Department of Psychology, Lahore Leads University. 

2Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science and International Relations, University of Management and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan.   

3Assistant Professor, Department of Education, Lahore Leads University.

4Assistant Professor/HOD, Department of Law, Lahore Leads University.

5Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Lahore Leads University.

References

Abbas, S. S., & Jabeen, T. (2023). Child sexual abuse in Pakistan: Using the evidence-based social ecological model for explanation and policy formulation. Community Health Equity Research & Policy, 43(2), 219–228.

Ahmad, S. (2019). Emotions as Fuel: The passage of anti-sexual harassment legislation in Pakistan. In Emotions, Mobilisations and South Asian Politics (pp. 135–150). Routledge India.

Barnum, E. L., & Perrone-McGovern, K. M. (2017). Attachment, self-esteem, and subjective well-being among survivors of childhood sexual trauma. Journal of mental health counseling, 39(1), 39–55.

Bhattacharya, S. (2014). Status of women in Pakistan. Journal of the Research Society of Pakistan, 51(1).

Bondestam, F., & Lundqvist, M. (2020). Sexual harassment in higher education–a systematic review. European Journal of Higher Education, 10(4), 397-419.

Browne, A., & Finkelhor, D. (1986). Impact of child sexual abuse: a review of the research. Psychological bulletin, 99(1), 66.

Canon, J. D. (1999). Sexual harassment: the new liability. Risk Management, 46(1), 12–13.

Cantor, D., Fisher, B., Chibnall, S., Harps, S., Townsend, R., Thomas, G., ... & Madden, K. (2019). Report on the AAU campus climate survey on sexual assault and misconduct. The Association of American Universities, Westat, Rockville, Maryland.

Clancy, K. B., Cortina, L. M., & Kirkland, A. R. (2020). Use science to stop sexual harassment in higher education. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(37), 22614–22618.

Cripps, J., & Stermac, L. (2018). Cyber-sexual violence and negative emotional states among women in a Canadian university. International journal of cyber criminology, 12(1), 171–186.

Critelli, F. M. (2010). Women's rights Human rights: Pakistani women against gender violence. J. Soc. & Soc. Welfare, 37, 135.

Dahinten, V. S. (2003). Peer Sexual Harassment in Adolescence: The Function of Gender. The Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 35 (2), 56-73

DelGreco, M., & Christensen, J. (2020). Effects of street harassment on Anxiety, depression, and sleep quality of college women. Sex Roles, 82(7-8), 473-481.

Fitzgerald, L. F., Swan, S., & Fischer, K. (1995). Why didn't she report him? The psychological and legal implications of women's responses to sexual harassment. Journal of Social Issues, 51(1), 117–138.

Gådin, K. G. (2012). Sexual harassment of girls in elementary school: A concealed phenomenon within a heterosexual romantic discourse. Journal of interpersonal violence, 27(9), 1762-1779.

Hubble, S., & Bolton, P. (2021). Part-time undergraduate students in England.

Jamil, S. (2023). The growing norm of sexual harassment in Pakistan’s mainstream and ethnic news media. Media Asia, pp. 1–21.

Jamshed, N., & Kamal, A. (2021). Prevalence of rape myths and sexual double standards among university students in Pakistan. Journal of interpersonal violence, 36(15-16), NP8653-NP8667.

Kammer-Kerwick, M., Wang, A., McClain, T. S., Hoefer, S., Swartout, K. M., Backes, B., & Busch-Armendariz, N. (2021). Sexual violence among gender and sexual minority college students: The risk and extent of victimization and related health and educational outcomes. Journal of interpersonal violence, 36(21-22), 10499-10526.

Khan, M., & Ahmed, A. (2016). The protection against harassment of Women at the workplace act 2010: A legislative review. LUMS LJ, pp. 3, 91.

Khan, S. A. (2012). Violence against women. Pakistan Journal of Women's Studies: Alam-e-Niswan, 19(2), 265–267.

Kirkner, A. C., Lorenz, K., & Mazar, L. (2022). Faculty and staff reporting & disclosure of sexual harassment in higher education. Gender and Education, 34(2), 199-215.

Kiwan, D. (2018). American liberal education and the civic university:‘citizenship’and ‘learning at the American University of Beirut. Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography, 100(2), 112-130.

McGinley, M., Wolff, J. M., Rospenda, K. M., Liu, L., & Richman, J. A. (2016). Risk factors and outcomes of chronic sexual harassment during the transition to college: Examination of a two-part growth mixture model. Social science research, pp. 60, 297–310.

McKinney, K. (1990). Sexual harassment of university faculty by colleagues and students. Sex Roles, pp. 23, 421–438.

Mulugeta, E., Kassaye, M., & Berhane, Y. (1998). Prevalence and outcomes of sexual violence among high school students. Ethiopian medical journal, 36(3), 167-174.

Mumford, E. A., Potter, S., Taylor, B. G., & Stapleton, J. (2020). Sexual harassment and sexual assault in early adulthood: National estimates for college and non-college students. Public Health Reports, 135(5), 555–559.

Murnen, S. K., & Smolak, L. (2000). The experience of sexual harassment among grade-school students: Early socialization of female subordination. Sex Roles, 43(1/2), 1–18.

Pershing, J. L. (2003). Why women do not report sexual harassment: A case study of an elite military institution. Gender issues, 21(4), 3–30.

Shaheed, F. (2010). The women’s movement in Pakistan: challenges and achievements. Women’s Movements in the Global Era, Boulder, pp. 1–26.

Singh, J. P. (2010). United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO): Creating norms for a complex world. Routledge.

Steine, I. M., Skogen, J. C., Hysing, M., Puigvert, L., Schønning, V., & Sivertsen, B. (2021). Sexual harassment and assault predict sleep disturbances and are partly mediated by nightmares: Findings from a national survey of all university students in Norway—journal of sleep research, 30(6), e13338.

Thakur, S., & Kumar, S. (2019). Sexual harassment in academic spaces: a comparative analysis of legal processes in India and Pakistan. Jindal Global Law Review, 10, 173-196.

Wajahat, J., Ali, R. N., & Jan, M. (2022). Sexual Harassment in The Workplace: A Proportional Examination Of Relevant Legislation, With Comparisons To Two Major Asian Countries: India And Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Social Research, 4(03), 10-16.

Woods, C. (2023). QTPOC Survivors of Sexual Violence in College: Methods at the Intersections. Journal of Women and Gender in Higher Education, 16(1), 25–38.