Preview

sexual harassment at universities

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
8732 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
sexual harassment at universities
University of Namibia
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Department of Sociology

Research paper in Sociology The effects and impacts of sexual harassment on students as well as the nature of sexual harassment at the University of Namibia’s main campus.
By
Selma P Shilunga
Supervisor: Dr Lucy Edwards-Jauch
November 2013

Table of Content

Declaration………………………………………………………………………… 5
Acknowledgement …………….…..……………………………………………… 6
Dedication….……………………………………………………………………… 7
Chapter One: Introduction
1.1. Introduction…………………………..………………………………….. 8
1.2. Research Topic ………………………………………………………….... 9
1.3. Statement of the Problem …………………………………………........... 9
1.4. Key Research Questions ………………..……………………………….. 9
1.5. Purpose and objectives of the Research…………………………………. 10
1.6. Scope of the study ………………………………………………………… 10
1.7. Significance of the study……………………………………………..…… 10
Chapter Two: Literature Review
2. Introduction ……………………………………………………………………… 11
2.1. Definitions of sexual harassment…………………………………………….. 12
2.2. Visual sexual harassment……………………………………………………… 13
2.3. Sexual harassment on School Girls…………………………………………… 13

2.4. Theories of Sexual Harassment……………………………………………... 15
2.4.1. Feminist theory………………………………………………………. 15
2.4.2. Feminists and Sexual harassment …………………………………... 16
2.4.3. Feminist Legal Theory………………………………………………. 17
2.4.4. Radical Feminist Theory…………………………………………….. 18
2.4.5. Human Rights Theory………………………………………………. 19
2.5. Sexual Harassment Policies ……………………………………………….... 20
2.6. International Experiences of Sexual Harassment…………………………. 22
2.6.1. Sexual Harassment in Nigeria………………………………………. 22
2.6.2. Sexual Harassment in Turkey………………………………………. 23
2.6.3. Sexual Harassment in Mumbai Colleges……………………………. 25
2.6.4. Sexual Harassment at Universities in South Africa……………….. 26
2.7. Sexual Harassment in Namibia …………………………………………….. 27
2.8. Sexual harassment at the University of Namibia…………………………… 29



References: 1. Arzu W.S and Cortina L.N (2002). Coping in context: Sociocultural determinants of responses to sexual harassment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Vol.83, No2. Pg 394-405 2 3. Bursik K and Gefter J (2011). Still stable after all these years: Perception of sexual harassment in academic context. Journal of psychology. Vol. 151 issue 3 4 5. Crow A, (ed) (2000). Radical feminism: A documentary reader. New York and London. New York university press. 6. Dean J (2011). Radical feminism: What it is and why we are afraid of it. Retrieved on August 30, 2013 from http://www.thegaurdian.com/commentisfree/.../radical-feminism-assignee-case 7 10. Faris Z (2013). Feminists and sexual harassment. Retrieved on September 11, 2013 from http://www.zarafaris.com/2013/04/09/feminists-and-sexualharassment 11 12. Heard A (1997). Human Rights: Chimeras in sheep’s clothing. Retrieved on July 24, 2013 from http://www.sfu,ca/-aheard/intro.html 13 14. Hill K.T and Hill N.G (2005). Harassment-legal dictionary - The free dictionary. Retrieved on July 28, 2013 from http://www.legaldictionary.thefreedictionary.com/harassment 15 16. Johannes A and Gandhi N (2006). A study of sexual harassment in colleges in Mumbai: An executive summary. Retrieved on July 28, 2013 from http://www.arajohannes.wordpress.com/.../research/a-study-on-sexualharassment-in- 17 Lewis J (n.d). definition of feminism - Women’s history- About.com Retrieved on July 23, 2013 from http://www.womenshistory.about.com>...>feminism Lewis J (n.d.) Nashuuta L, (2012). Southern Times: Suffering at home and at work. Retrieved on July 28, 2013 from http://www.southertimesafrica.com/news-article.php?id=6862&title Okeke C M (2011) The advocates for human rights (2007). Theories of Sexual Harassment, adapted from Martha Chamallas. Retrieved on July 24, 2013 from http://www.stopvaw.org/thoeries_of_sexualharassment The Michigan state University (2013) Tongai I (2013). University World News: Scandal highlights sexual abuse at Universities. Retrieved on Sept 11, 2013 from http://www.universityworldnew.com/articles.php United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (19996-2006) Wood T and Hubbard D (n.d.). Legal advice column: Harassment and Stalking. Retrieved on August 26, 2013 from http://www.lac.org.na/projects/grap/pdff

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Roberts, B. S., & Mann, R. A. (n.d.). Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: A Primer. Retrieved July 2013, from http://www3.uakron.edu/lawrev/robert1.html…

    • 1225 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Tong, R., Williams, N.(2009,May 4) Feminist Ethics. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (Fall 2009 Edition). Retrieved June 22, 2010, from SEP: http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2009/entries/feminism-ethics/…

    • 1775 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Michelle Vinson sued her supervisor for sexual harassment because she had been raped by him over a period of 2 years. She argued that having to tolerate forced sex to keep her job was environmental sexual harassment. (Wilma) Men and women differ in their perceptions of sexual harassment. Women believe more behaviors to be harassing than men. Sexual harassment is an ongoing problem in the workplace. An employer who objects to aggressiveness in women but whose positions require that trait places women in intolerable and impermissible catch. A requirement that a man or woman run a gauntlet of sexual abuse in return for the privilege of being allowed to work and make a living can be as demining and disconcerting as the harshest of racial epithets. 44% of women and 19% of men reported having experienced having experienced some form of unwanted sexual attention at work. Studies show that the most prevalent form of sexual harassment involves men harassing women.(Conn)Researchers have argued that sexual harassment occurs because of their low status in labor markets and in occupational structure. Not all sexual interactions are harmful. Workers experience sexual behaviors differently. Some think sexual interactions are enjoyable or fun, while others think they’re…

    • 1024 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nova Sexual Misconducts

    • 1174 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Yet less than 10% of their students tell a college employee and even a smaller number officially report it. It is no different in NOVA, the number of reports on sexual harassment is very low and consequently disturbing. There could be multiple reasons why students are not reporting sexual harassment incidents. If a change is wanted understanding these reasons should be the first step. Most common reasons why victims fall to report according to AAUM are, victims often believe that no one will do anything about the problem. When a person is sexually harassed, it is common to feel their problem is not that “big of a deal” or important to report and no one will take it seriously. Second, victims are afraid of being blamed, blaming the victim has been done so commonly done by perpetrators that victims withhold them-self form reporting. Sexual assault victims often feel that there are many reasons to why they should not report but the biggest reason being it is not “a bid deal” playes the biggest role. Educational institutes need to educate their students and faculties to speak out. Moreover, sexual harassment has a gray and blurry line for both the victims and the departments that are dealing with sexual misconducts. The fact that it is nearly impossible to bring a proof of sexual harassment unlike sexual assault make…

    • 1174 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    References: Sexual harassment in the workplace - know your rights . (n.d.). Retrieved from https://careers.tcu.edu/sg../Sexual_Harassment_in_the_Workplace.pd…

    • 270 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Course Project

    • 2111 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The Advocates for Human Rights. (2007, April 15). The Advocates for Human Rights. Retrieved June 09, 2012, from The Advocates for Human Rights: http://www.stopvaw.org/sexual_harassment_that_creates_a_hostile_work_environment.html…

    • 2111 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    But the most popular harassment faced is sexual harassment. Sexual harassment has been a problem throughout the world for many centuries. As the years go on sexual harassment is getting worst it is used as a pawn to people of higher authority. They tend to harass there employees because they know how badly they want their jobs and they will do anything to keep it. Despite common belief sexual harassment in the workplace has been about power and authority rather than sex, but the experience after the attack has proven to be more damaging than the original…

    • 1180 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Bullying in the workplace is a broad term for a form of violence that abuses power in workplaces. It consists of repeated physical, psychological, or sexual abuse, threats, harassment, or hostility at work, and these behaviors are known to be unwelcome or unwanted (MacIntosh, 2005. Einarsen (2000). It wasn’t until after 1998, when most job companies placed a sexual harassment policy in order to protect their employees. But even putting a policy in place does not ensure safety from the horrible act of sexual…

    • 1811 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    References: Dall’Ara, Elena Studying seual harassment in the laboratory: Are egalitarian women at higher risk ( November 1999)…

    • 922 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Under the Canadian federal and provincial human rights legislation, both men and women in workplace are supposed to be free from sexual harassment. Apart from this issue, workplace bullying also refer to “persistent and repeated offensive, unsafe, unwanted, or intimidating physical, psychological, or sexual behaviors that abuse power or control in the workplace” (Boddy, 2011; Hogh, Hoel, & Carneiro, 2011; MacIntosh, 2005). In 2008, sexual harassment towards women being reported to police was about 68% per 100,000 people, which was nearly 10 times higher than the rate…

    • 1056 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Sexism In Workplace

    • 1407 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Sexual harassment stems from the objectification of women because if some men believe that a woman is just an object, they think they can do anything they want. A prime example of a workplace sexual harassment case is that of Christina Rich, a financial advisor from New Zealand. Rich was sexually harassed, discriminated, victim blamed, and bullied. She was repeatedly sexually harassed by her former immediate boss and was once by a company partner. Rich sent in complaints to higher up bosses of the company, but nothing happened. For instance, “She alleged that between 1999 and 2004, repeated sexual harassment went unchecked, her complaints about discrimination were not taken seriously, and she was punished by being banned from carrying out her job” (NZH 1). None of her bosses cared, and they told her that it was not a big deal. In 2004, Rich quit, and in 2008, she filled a workplace sexism and harassment lawsuit against the company and won. Many women have or are being sexually harassed at work; however, most of them are not as lucky as Rich. Most women who are sexually harassed at work never tell anyone because they are too scared. When a woman does tell someone about the sexual harassment, she is usually victim blamed and told it was her fault, which is why the other women are afraid to tell their bosses about the harassment. Also, like in Rich’s case, if a woman tells her boss about the harassment,…

    • 1407 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Sexual Assault Prevention

    • 1263 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The purpose of this essay is to discuss the grave issue of sexual assault and sexual harassment in the Army. It explains the steps I would take as a leader in the event of a sexual assault in my squad or platoon. It discusses the resources available for the victim and possible outcomes for the victim and the accused Soldier. Finally, it describes the actions I would take if the victim was a male, or if the victim and accused were the same gender. Guidance on how to assist the victim was taken from the Sexual Harassment/Assault Response & Prevention [SHARP] guidebook and Army Regulation [AR] 600-20, Army Command Policy, along with Department…

    • 1263 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Men and women were using the same word to describe different behaviors may contribute to the continued existence of sexual harassment. But when a man thinks that sexual harassment only comes from a supervisor, he may feel free to make sexual comments to a female coworker. The female coworker is likely to see the sexual comments as a quest for power and label it as sexual harassment. There are facts that men are considerably less threatened by behaviors that women found harassing. They also found that men and were threatened by different things such as, whereas women were more threatened by behaviors that emphasized their sub ordinance, men were more bothered by behaviors that threatened their feeling of dominance. Sexual pressure was found by the…

    • 1081 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Age Comparison

    • 409 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Age comparisons is considered a common factor in terms of the perception of sexual harassment. According to Ohse and Stockdale (2008), most studies have reported comparisons by older and younger and older respondents have relied on comparisons between students and employed adults. In these studies, reseachers have found that students and employees perceive sexual harassment differently. The results shows that older employees have been more likely than younger students to perceive behaviors as sexual harassment (Ohse and Stockdale, 2008). For instance O’Connell and Korabik (2000), studies indicated a significant finding in regards to relationship between age and sexual harassment attitudes with the youngest, high-school age…

    • 409 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Feminism Essay Example

    • 1559 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Feminism is a term which one must use with caution as it can cause much debate when taken out of the right context. However as we move into an ever more globalised world feminism is fast becoming an accepted term within social and political discourse although this may not be seen by everyone within society. (Kerr et al, 2004, p. x) Feminism challenges and critiques the bias towards men within society, feminism stands for equality in terms of gender within society. In order to study feminism we need to take into account the theoretical background to feminism by studying past perspectives on feminism. (Kerr et al, 2004, p.4) In this essay I will discuss two different political thoughts on feminism, radical feminism and postmodern feminism and how both these perspectives can be compared and contrasted. I aim to discuss how successful each has been in relation to furthering women’s interests within society.…

    • 1559 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays