Perspective of Female Students on Sexual Harassment in Village Hostel University of Jos
CHAPTER ONE
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The objectives of the study are;
- To identify the causes of sexual harassment of students in village hostel university of Jos
- To identify the danger of sexual harassment in village hostel University of Jos
- To identify the strategies in which government have employ to curb sexual harassment of students in higher institution
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
INTRODUCTION
Around the world, attempts have been made to characterise sexual harassment. Haslet and Lipman (1997) suggest that images of women than men hold in their gender schema tend to strongly emphasize women’s support roles and their dependence on the agenda of men. To many, the roles also include sexual gratification, affecting seven out of every ten women at some point in their lives, and women at colleges and universities are among those who confront the problems. A variety of definitions have been given (American Association of University Women (1992, 2001; Keliery and Passers 2000). Benokrarts (1997) suggests that the types of behaviour that are ordinarily described as friendly but are sexually suggestive should properly be labelled as sexual harassment. These include profane humour or sexual jokes because they cause embarrassment to the object of the jokes. Much work has been done in Canada, the United States of America (USA) and among members of the European Union (EU), particularly on sexual harassment in the workplace (European Commission, 1998, the Irish Presidency of the EU, 2004, Department of US Defence 1995). The field appears problematic and suffers from ambiguity, because as stated earlier, there is a thin line between what constitutes acceptable, normal behaviours of courtship, flirting and sexual harassment. For instance, when a man induces a particular women to voluntarily interact with him, harassment is not present, even though improper institutional/unethical practices is (Benokraitis 1997). It is only when individuals use their institutional power to force another individual to recognise or reward them sexually that harassment occurs. Benokraitis (1997), among others, defined sexual harassment as those forms of behaviour sexualizing persons without their consent, such as sexual touching, teasing or bullying, threats, insults and practical jokes. World Bank (1994) viewed sexual harassment as unsolicited and unwelcome verbal conduct such as sexually suggestive comment, while the non-verbal sexual harassment includes gestures or unwanted physical contact including leering looks, touching, pestering as well as the request for a date or sex. Such behaviour ultimately places the harassed at a disadvantage. Sandler and Shoop (1997) conceptualize sexual harassment as unwelcome advances, request for sexual favours and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, and submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment or academic decisions affecting the person.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
The researcher used descriptive research survey design in building up this project work the choice of this research design was considered appropriate because of its advantages of identifying attributes of a large population from a group of individuals. The design was suitable for the study as the study sought to perspective of female students on sexual harassment in village hostel university of Jos
Sources of data collection
Data were collected from two main sources namely:
(i)Primary source and
(ii)Secondary source
Primary source:
These are materials of statistical investigation which were collected by the research for a particular purpose. They can be obtained through a survey, observation questionnaire or as experiment; the researcher has adopted the questionnaire method for this study.
Secondary source:
These are data from textbook Journal handset etc. they arise as byproducts of the same other purposes. Example administration, various other unpublished works and write ups were also used.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION ANALYSIS INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Introduction
Efforts will be made at this stage to present, analyze and interpret the data collected during the field survey. This presentation will be based on the responses from the completed questionnaires. The result of this exercise will be summarized in tabular forms for easy references and analysis. It will also show answers to questions relating to the research questions for this research study. The researcher employed simple percentage in the analysis.
DATA ANALYSIS
The data collected from the respondents were analyzed in tabular form with simple percentage for easy understanding.
A total of 133(one hundred and thirty three) questionnaires were distributed and 133 questionnaires were returned.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was on perspective of female students on sexual harassment in village hostel university of jos. In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of female students on sexual harassment in village hostel university of Jos
Summary
This study was on perspective of female students on sexual harassment in village hostel university of jos. Three objectives were raised which included: To identify the causes of sexual harassment of students in village hostel university of Jos, to identify the danger of sexual harassment in village hostel University of Jos and to identify the strategies in which government have employ to curb sexual harassment of students in higher institution. In line with these objectives, two research hypotheses were formulated and two null hypotheses were posited. The total population for the study is 200 selected students in University of Jos. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made final year students, year four students, year three students and year two students were used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies
Conclusion
The study assumed that sexual harassment which appears to be part of the educational experience of some students, should be better understood from students’ perspectives, and therefore solution to it should also include students’ input, as indicated in the present study. Awareness and knowledge of sexual harassment among respondents in terms of the various definitions given included unwelcome/unwarranted/sexual advances which could be physical and verbal. Even the more serious forms of rape, attempted rape and sexual assault were included. Not only were they certain about what constitutes sexual harassment, many of them had experienced it in different forms and felt insulted, violated, humiliated and angry. The consequences of sexual harassment in any environment, workplace, particularly in educational institutions should be of concern to all stakeholders because of its grave consequences not only to students but also for the system as a whole. For instance, most commonly, students avoid the person who harasses them. Female students are more likely then male ones to have their educational experience disrupted, skip classes, drop a course or make a lower grade. Sexual harassment will always have negative consequences for academic work and should therefore be dwelt with by all institutions adopting a clear-cut policy and some of the other solutions suggested.
Recommendation
The system of complaint-handling should serve to safeguard the basic rights of tutors and students, as well as their gender equity and equality. In operation, the system should uphold the principles of fairness, transparency and protection of privacy, and the authority to discipline
Anti-harassment and awareness programs must be put in place to disseminate sexual harassment condemnation messages both within and outside the university communities. This can be done through various fora such as students’ and staff clubs, community radio stations, bill boards and many other avenues. Immediate action must also be meted out against the harassers in order to deter such behavior, and promote less hostile learning and working environments in which core values of social justice, integrity and inclusiveness are not compromised
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