Addressing sexual harassment among students at a Durban university

Abstract

Sexual harassment and gender-based violence have become pervasive and normal within South African society and is a matter of grave concern at colleges and universities. This study seeks to address sexual harassment among students at a Durban university. The study explores the understanding and perceptions that students attach to sexual harassment. The nature, cause and consequences of sexual harassment, and student suggestions on ways to reduce it, were examined. Ultimately a participatory action plan was implemented to tackle sexual harassment at the university. Drawing on Lorber’s (2000) social construction of gender theory approach, this study explored the lived experiences of students at the university. The theory is based on the premise that gender is constantly created and recreated during social interaction (Lorber, 2000). This allowed for the understanding of students’ experiences within a social context. The literature reviewed showed that gender relations and patriarchy contributed enormously to sexual harassment. The study adopted the Interpretivist paradigm and qualitative methods to answer the research questions. These approaches enabled data generation based on the participants’ interpretation and lived experiences. The non-purposive sampling method was employed to select twenty undergraduate students: twelve females; five males; one queer; and two bisexual participants. Data was generated using individual interviews and focus group discussions. The interpretive thematic analysis process of recognising, examining and identifying similarities and differences and thereby finding themes within the data was used. Three broad themes emerged, including who mainly perpetrated the sexual harassment; the nature of sexual harassment; causes of sexual harassment (embedded in subscription to violent forms of masculinity and socio-economic factors, confronting patriarchal discourses and resisting victimhood). The study argued that it was within the broader context of violent forms of masculinity and patriarchal power context that challenged and effectively silenced victims. Data generated revealed that the participants held a diverse range of understanding of sexual harassment and GBV. It was evident that sexual harassment was prevalent on campus. Female students are exposed and the main victims of such, with the male students, the main perpetrators. Students who are LGBTQIA⁺ were found to be vulnerable to sexual harassment mainly due to their sexual orientation. The study revealed the need to create better awareness on what constitutes sexual harassment and gender-based violence and participants suggested that victims, perpetrators and university staff have to work collaboratively to tackle the scourge. Participants all concurred that there is a need for focussed and ongoing education and awareness campaigns on campus.