PREVALENCE OF PHYSICAL, VERBAL AND NONVERBAL SEXUAL HARASSMENTS AND THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS AMONG JIMMA UNIVERSITY FEMALE STUDENTS A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

BACKGROUND: A number of studies conducted on sexual harassment focused on general magnituderather than specific details of the various forms of sexual harassment and their effect on psychologicalhealth. Thus, the objective of this study was to assess the prevalence rates of the various forms of sexualharassments and their associations with psychological distress among Jimma University femalestudents.METHODS: Three hundred and eighty five (385) female participants were selected from all collegesusing stratified and systematic sampling techniques. A structured questionnaire consisting of items onthe various forms of sexual harassment and psychological distress was administered.RESULT: The prevalence rates of physical, verbal and nonverbal sexual harassments were 78.2%,90.4% and 80.0%, respectively, while the prevalence rate of psychological distress among students whohad experienced sexual harassment was 63.0%. The multivariable logistic regression analyses indicatedthat students who were physically [adjusted OR = 3.950, 95% CI = (1.979, 7.884)] and nonverbally[(adjusted OR = 12.099, 95% CI= (5.190, 28.205] harassed were 4 and 12 times more likely to experiencepsychological distress, respectively, adjusted for all other variables.CONCLUSION: The prevalence of various forms of sexual harassment were higher and stronglyassociated with psychological distress. Important implications for University officials and policy makersincluding creating harassment free University have been drawn. Otherwise, female students tend todropout and their academic achievements suffer a lot as a result of psychological distress; and thegovernment’s effort for realizing the gender parity in education would be compromised.