Sexual Harassment of Female Secondary to Undergraduate Students in Elite Educational Institutes of Lahore
Danyal Haider
Raja Qaiser
Zeeshan Butt
Osama Eshaq
Rabia Nafees Shah
Academic Writing
June 27th 2015
Lahore School of Economics
Sexual Harassment of Female Secondary to Undergraduate Students in Elite Educational Institutes of Lahore
Introduction
The idea for this research sprung from the rising trend of illicit student-teacher relationships in the United States of America, projected actively on the social media. This movement inspired the thought that such behavior may well be prevalent in Pakistan as well and never come to the forefront.
The research aims to identify the types of harassment that exist in the secondary and undergraduate sectors of education in Pakistan and the reasons why these incidents are not brought to the attention of the legal system.
So far there has not been a study on female sexual harassment in Pakistan that explores the incidence of harassment among the female student community, which is irksome especially given the recent accusations of harassment leveled against an instructor at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), a prestigious university in a posh area of Lahore. One would assume that such an incident would be stimulus enough for rights’ groups to initiate a research into this aspect of female harassment, which is why we have taken it upon ourselves to do so.
The research will be primary in nature, conducted through the distribution of a total of thirty (30) questionnaires among female students of LUMS, the Lahore School of Economics, Lahore Grammar School 55-Main and the Lahore Grammar School Defence (Phase 1). Since these institutes are where the majority of Lahore’s students are educated, they should serve as our periscope into the issues we want to uncover in a more holistic method.
Currently, the existing researches on female sexual harassment, “Coping With Sexual Harassment: The Experiences of Junior Female Student Nurses and Senior Female Nursing Managers in Sindh Pakistan” (Qureshi, M.B., Qureshi, S.B., Taherani, A., Ansari, S.) and “Sexual Harassment at Workplace in Pakistan- Issues and Remedies about the Global Issue at Managerial Sector” (Sadruddin, Munir M.) discuss only the plight of women in the professional sector, and do not include the issues faced by women who have yet to complete their education. This points to a void in research, which in turn indicates a lack of substantial interest in the sexual harassment of female students in Pakistan. While Qureshi et all attempt to highlight the harassment faced by student nurses, their research generally talks of harassment faced at the hands of patients and their families rather than an authority figure such as a teacher or administrator. It is this gap that our research aims to bridge.
Method
In Pakistan, instances of men touching women ‘inadvertently’ are all too common. Girls are taught to ignore it to avoid creating a ‘scene’. Indeed, it is not just society that silences women; even our laws discourage women from reporting such cases of violence against them. About 68% of women are sexually harassed in Pakistan and most of such cases prevail in our educational institutions.
In recent years, there has been an increasing number of female students and faculty courageously reporting the cases of sexual harassment occurring in universities of both the public and private sector. However, the majority of female students, or even faculty members themselves remain quiet over this injustice because they do not want to bring shame to their families or to become the talk of the town. However, we as a nation have to bring this social evil that has plagued our society into the limelight.
Therefore we decided to conduct a deep research on this issue at the ground level so that we could bring awareness among our people, especially females, in order to empower them to come up and stand firmly against this social evil. For this purpose we conducted a research on sexual harassment in elite educational institutions of Lahore, as it was very feasible for us to survey high schools and universities in our town. We designed a very comprehensive and basic methodology. It has two steps- Questionnaire and Interviews. a. Questionnaire:
As a questionnaire is filled anonymously, we decided to conduct our survey by this method since it does not expose the identity of the respondent who may have faced sexual harassment and therefore may not respond freely for fear of exposure.
The questionnaire was multi-purpose and it was designed to gather maximum information. The questionnaire consisted of 25 questions that were aimed at understanding the perception of female students about sexual harassment at elite educational institutions. 30 respondents from different elite educational institutes of Lahore filled the questionnaire online.
In the first place it is very important to know how women define sexual harassment. So the questionnaire served the purpose well and we have gathered views from many female students regarding the basic definition of sexual harassment.
The questionnaire also incorporated questions about how the educational institutions to which the respondents belong manipulate this issue and how effective the policies regarding the curbing of this dilemma are. We have systematically analysed the ground realities and examined the behaviour of female students towards sexual harassment. The questionnaire asks about the effect of sexual harassment on the academic atmosphere, level of confidence of students and what decisive measures should be taken to bring awareness among the student body to end the silence against this social evil. The responses are very positive and the students displayed great courage by responding openly to our survey. They fearlessly gave their views and opinions about the situation or level of sexual harassment in their respective educational institutions.
b. Interviews:
Face to face interviews have been a dominant survey technique in the field of qualitative research, so we adopted this method for our further research. Interviews are more in depth and we used them to get a fuller range of information about our field of study. As our research topic is almost entirely practical in nature, we wanted to get to know the personal human experiences and psychological states of survivors. We also intended to get some intellectual views to understand how survivors react to sexual harassment and what they suggest for bringing social awareness and eradication of fear among women.
This method was more interesting as the interviews were being video recorded with the permission of interviewees. The advantage in recording the interviews is that the interview report is more accurate than writing out notes. Thus we can evaluate the results adequately. The interviewees exposed many hidden facts about the psychological condition and behaviour of men who harass women.
The findings and results were then recorded in written form and video form.
Participants
32 people participated in our study out of which 30 are female secondary school and undergraduate students, while one is a teacher at the Lahore College for Women University (a well-known women university in Lahore) and the other is a psychologist. The female students participating in our study are from the Lahore Grammar School Defence and 55-Main Gulberg, LUMS and LSE. All are considered elite educational institutions of Lahore. Most of the respondents are teenagers and the mean age (M) of the respondents is 20.
Initially, we conducted our survey face to face so that we could interact with female school and undergraduate students but they were hesitant, as they did not want to highlight this issue explicitly in their educational institution. There were also some concerns of the institutes’ managements regarding their academic reputation, so we changed our mode of survey and gave online questionnaires to 30 female students so that they could share their views and personal experiences openly and fearlessly. When we sent the questionnaire online to them, they outspokenly shared their personal experiences, policy statement of their respective educational institution on sexual harassment and the degree of security they feel at their campus. However, they faced some complications in answering questions on their attitude towards sexual harassment and they felt hesitant in sharing their views on the situation of sexual harassment in their educational institutions. They were reluctant to tell us the female students who had faced sexual harassment. Some of the respondents bluntly pointed and criticized the policy statement (or lack thereof) of their educational institutions on sexual harassment and told us about the specific person from whom they feel insecure or threatened.
All the respondents belong to the same cultural background and society so they shared a common opinion on the factors behind being sexually harassed. They displayed a very radical approach towards prevention of this social immorality and they have explicitly mentioned the major reasons behind sexual harassment in their educational institutions.
The other 2 participants are a psychologist and a teacher. Their interviews were of great importance, as we wanted to go in depth with our full range and capacity. The purpose behind interviewing a psychologist was to find out various psychological factors behind sexual harassment and its psychological consequences. Also it was meant to get psychological solutions and preventions to curb this social evil. It also made us understand the psychological impacts of sexual harassment on other people in the wider sphere of society. The video recordings of the interview have made it easier for us to evaluate results.
The other very important participant in our study is a dignified teaching associate at women university of Lahore. The purpose of getting a teacher’s interview was to gain an intellectual’s deep insight on the impacts and prevention of sexual harassment in educational institutions and the reaction of the faculty towards this immorality. As the interviewee teaches at a women’s university, it became very easy for us to understand the problem at the ground level. The interviewee categorically stated such different incidents in educational institutions and how female students have been threatened to stop highlighting this issue on social hubs. The interviewee has been asked about the preventative measures and policies that educational institutions have undertaken on the directions of HEC regarding curbing and penalisation of sexual harassment.
Research Design
Our topic, the “Sexual Harassment of Female Secondary and Undergraduate Students in Elite Educational Institutes of Lahore” is not considered a worthwhile issue for debate in Asian countries. In Pakistan, females are the main targets of sexual harassment. The dependent variable in our case is the incidence of sexual harassment and our experimented variable is the number of females facing this issue in their daily lives. Due to improper administration in our surroundings they all feel unsafe in the workplace. Therefore, we enrolled the well aware women in our research to study this problem and to eradicate it by observing their responses. Everyone has his or her own point of view regarding sexual harassment. Our research design is to collect all those results from our sample and come up with a better way to resolve it.
Measures
Sexual harassment is a sensitive topic and females in Lahore cannot discuss it freely. They feel insecure about telling their experiences regarding harassment. We made a precise questionnaire to interpret the responses. There was some difficulty in delivering the questionnaire to our tested variable. We used the university level scale for our research because at the primary and secondary levels, women feel uncomfortable in talking about their personal experiences. Universities house a dynamic wherein boldness and confidence are encouraged. Our research includes the students of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), the Lahore School of Economics (LSE), and the Lahore Grammar School 55-Main and Defense Phase 1 (LGS). These universities have both matric/Fsc students and O/A level students in them studying a plethora of professional courses. Our questionnaire is based on respected and ethical questions. Our aim is not to harm or check anyone. In the interest of anonymity, we used an online source to deliver our questionnaire. We are ourselves unaware as to the identity of our respondents, which provides them with a sense of protection and security of their personal experience.
Procedure
Our procedure started with observing the crowd that could allow us an insight into the issue at hand, and the students of private universities were found to be a much more preferable sample in this regard. Those students who are familiar with sexual harassment or have experienced it in their lives have been the best sample for our research. Direct exposure of their personal experience in terms of answers in the questionnaire filling in the presence of another may add a barrier to the research, so we approached the sample using an online source that allowed us to provide them with a questionnaire. The source and respondents have both been kept secret to ensure honesty. We then analysed the results of the questionnaire and made a result sheet of all the answers given. With the help of the coding method we concluded the result graphically in our research which helps in defining the responses and their and effective interpretations. We then proceeded to interview two professionals who provided us ample support in our research. They also shared their views and described to us the measures that can and should be undertaken for the prevention of sexual harassment. One is an Associate Professor at a distinguished public university while the other is a psychologist currently enrolled at Columbia University. Psychologists help us in understanding the state of a female at the time of harassment as well as the psyche of the perpetrator, and allow us to identify the real reasons for such behavior. The teacher is very much familiar with harassment cases of students. The support of these professionals makes it possible for us to assess the steps that need to be taken against sexual harassment in our society. The interviewees are experts in this field as they routinely come across cases of sexual harassment in their professional careers in Lahore and, thereby allow us an insight into the general trend regarding harassment in our society.
Results
In most of the educational institutions in Pakistan there are no policies or regulations made for sexual harassment as in Pakistan it is not considered serious enough an issue.
In Pakistan, women are not aware of any legislation or statutory protection against sexual harassment. In fact, there is no such law made on an educational level. Women mostly do not know about laws because due in part to illiteracy, lack of awareness and inadequate media coverage. In our questionnaire, we found that women generally defined sexual harassment by physical contact as well lewd and threating comments, in that these are the most often occurring elements of sexual harassment prevalent in society.
In response to the question on the state’s prowess in protecting adult as well as underage females from harassment, the majority of the respondents replied in the negative, revealing a serious structural flaw in legislation.
As per the responses we gathered, we came to see that most women have faced or seen sexual harassment at their educational institutions. As discussed above, it is clear that this happens because there are no proper laws to prevent such crimes from occurring. Perpetrators are not afraid because they feel “protected” by the lack of legislation, as legal action cannot be taken against them even if they are caught.
50% of the people told us that they have reported sexual harassment to the authorities, while the other half had not. Those who had not reported it to the authorities had refrained because they felt that the authorities lack both the will and the capacity to take action against the perpetrators, while some said that they were afraid of the repercussions. Still others who have been harassed by their teachers could not complain, which they argued was because primarily the authorities would not take any action and secondly, the survivors will be at the risk of facing further marginalization from a scorned instructor.
Most of the students studying in the institutes say that they feel somewhat insecure at their institutes.
Surprisingly, some respondents were of the opinion that reporting sexual harassment would bring about a change in the social dynamic, and force would-be perpetrators to think twice before molesting a woman. Students think that threat of sexual harassment does not affect academic performance, generally due to the fact that it has become such a deep-rooted phenomenon that it does not affect them much anymore. Rather, they usually dismiss it as a regular occurrence and continue their endeavours.
According to the survey, parents do play a positive role in empowering girls to stand up against sexual harassment. This is encouraging, since this will help empower women from a young age in the longer run and teach them to defend themselves against unacceptable behavior.
Media does play an important and positive role in highlighting the problems and in creating awareness in society about sexual harassment. Some of the respondents think that media should create more awareness and should encourage people to speak up against sexual harassment.
According to the survey 9 out 10 women have not been threatened to report sexual harassment.
Social media does shape the people’s thinking about acceptable behavior with women, according to the responses we received.
The participants also agreed that anti-harassment seminars should be held regularly in educational institutions to create awareness among students.
When asked about the viability of hiring counselors, the respondents agreed, indicating a dire need for the availability of both psychological as well as general guidance for survivors. A disciplinary board should be formed to take actions against sexual harassment suits.
Students think that teachers do sometimes intentionally or unintententionally promote the objectification of women.
Media does not give attention to the harassment of female student because they do not consider it as an issue. This attitude needs to evolve, and attention should be given to this issue. Proper awareness campaigns should be organized to create awareness among people.
It has been unanimously agreed upon in the responses we received that harassment is never the victim’s fault.
Students believe that if student bodies or student unions are made, there will be less incidents of harassment because student bodies will create a system of checks and balances amongst students and will take action against offenders.
Conclusions
The research has been largely effective in its aims; we have managed to acquire an accurate figure regarding the prevalence of female sexual harassment in educational institutes, and retrieved conclusive evidence of the extent of its stronghold within the educational community. We now know that although this topic has largely been brushed under the rug, not only are women aware of its existence, they also wish to undertake measures to end, not just reduce, this phenomenon. We also gained an insight into what is perceived as sexual harassment by Pakistani women in particular, which in most cases was as seemingly insignificant as inappropriate eye contact. Moreover, the lack of any form of legal and statutory safeguards available to female students against harassment emerged as a glaring loophole in Pakistan’s legal stance on the protection of women.
Almost all the participants have at one point or another faced sexual harassment in their school or university. This, again, points to how far this evil has penetrated our society, and the poor safety standards that are maintained for women all around at both a statutory level as well as in the form of bylaws enacted at the educational institutions. This can, again, be blamed on the lack of awareness and the perception of harassment as a taboo subject.
It is encouraging to see women, however, coming out and voicing their opinions and experiences more publicly, which points towards rising awareness and self-realisation in women. This confidence and boldness, which was evident in the responses to our questionnaires, must be promoted, not contained, and should be allowed to evolve in order to deter perpetrators from conducting sexual offences in future.
One thing is clear; in order to ensure security for women in educational institutes, there needs to be proper, practical and realistic legislation that is implemented correctly and without prejudice, in order to scare perpetrators into respecting women and their boundaries. It is recommended that those found to be guilty be made to serve actual jail time as well as pay a hefty fine. In addition, a system akin to the sex-offenders list in the United States of America should be established and anyone found to be guilty of harassment must be placed on that list, which should in turn be made public via all available media sources. This will serve to deter future offenders, as the risk of having their cover blown for the public at large to see is something that should serve to change the social dynamic regarding the “protectionism” that has long been extended to the perpetrators.
Apart from public shaming of the perpetrators, awareness campaigns are the order of the day. We must move towards enlightening women regarding sexual harassment and the methods that can be adopted to limit it. Moreover, men must also be forced to attend such seminars to teach them about the limitations of acceptable social behavior.
Educational institutes must also hire student counselors to ensure that the women who face harassment are given a proper channel to discuss their experience and receive guidance on how to cope with it. We have seen that in instances where this cannot be implemented, survivors often fall into the pit of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and depression. In addition, parents and teachers must be taught to instill strong moral values in young girls and boys to ensure that they, as adults, remain within the ambit of acceptable social behavior. These methods, although they are long term and require legal and social reform, are the only sure-fire ways of effectively reducing the phenomenon of sexual harassment from an otherwise male dominated society.
