Background

1. Professor Catherine So-kum Tang of the Department of Psychology at The Chinese University of Hong Kong had conducted two surveys on "Peer Sexual Harassment in Local Tertiary Institutions" respectively in 1992 and 2001. These surveys aimed to understand university students' gender attitudes as well as awareness, experiences, and responses to peer sexual harassment. Results of these surveys will assist local tertiary institutions in their promotion of education programs on the prevention of peer sexual harassment to facilitate a friendly, positive, and equitable learning environment on campuses.

Method

2. The 1992 survey was conducted at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Respondents were full-time students at different faculties and departments. A total of 860 (369 male and 491 female) students were surveyed, with the response rate being 30%.

3. The 2001 survey was conducted at the eight local tertiary institutions, including The Chinese University of Hong Kong, The University of Hong Kong, University of Science and Technology, The Polytechnic University, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University, Lingnan University, and The Hong Kong Institute of Education. The average response rate was 74.6%. Respondents were 2,495 (1,084 male and 1,401 female) full-time students at the above tertiary institutions across academic disciplines and years of study.

4. The contents of both surveys were similar, and included items on gender attitudes and awareness, experiences, and responses in relation to peer sexual harassment.

Attitudes Toward Sexual Harassment

5. Table 1 summarizes respondents' attitudes toward gender equity. Compared to the 1992 survey, results of the 2001 survey showed that despite the respondents were more liberal in their overall gender attitudes, they still held gender stereotypical expectations of women's behaviors.

6. Table 2 presents respondents' attitudes toward sexual harassment. Both the 1992 and 2001 surveys indicated that the respondents reported that sexual harassment occurred in their campuses and was due to women's sexy apparel and looks. Compared to the 1992 survey, respondents of the 2001 survey showed that they tended to endorse more myths about sexual harassment, such as sexual harassment was just over-reactions of the victims, a problem invented by the woman liberation activists, a problem of a person who could not handle personal relationship well, only courtship behaviors and men's admiration of women, and easily differentiated from courtship behaviors.

7. Table 3 list the channels where the respondents of the 2001 survey could obtain information about sexual harassment on campuses. About 1/3 of the respondents were aware that their university held workshops/seminars on this topic, but only 3.8% participated in them. Results also showed that only 3.9% of the respondents had read their university sexual harassment policy, and 12.3% of them knew where to seek assistance for sexual harassment.

Experiences and Responses of Victims of Peer Sexual Harassment

8. Table 4 summarizes the rates of peer sexual harassment. Compared to the 1992 survey, results of the 2001 survey indicated that the rates of peer sexual harassment had not changed during this time period, about 28.3% of the respondents reported being sexually harassed and another 0.5% admitted to being pressured for sexual activities by their peers.

9. Compared to the 1992 survey, the 2001 survey showed that some peer sexual harassment behaviors had increased. They included: unwanted touching of both non-intimate and intimate bodily parts, making remarks about body or features relating to the gender, sending unwanted letters or phone calls of a sexual nature, and unwanted kissing. However, the following peer sexual harassment behaviors had decreased: Making sexual jokes about gender, unwanted pressure for dates, and asking for sexual activity as a condition for certain benefits.

10. The 2001 survey also asked the respondents about their experiences of cyber sexual harassment. Results showed that almost 20% of them received unwanted sexual materials, another 6.6% received unwanted demeaning gender jokes, and another 4.5% received unwanted requests for dates from their peers via the e-mails and internet.

11. Both the 1992 and 2001 surveys showed that women were more likely than men to experience peer sexual harassment, with the male to female ratio being 1:2.

12. Table 5 summarizes the behavioral and emotional reactions of those respondents who had been sexually harassed by their peers. Compared to the 1992 survey, the 2001 survey showed that the victims were more likely to take active actions, such as directly showing dissatisfaction to the harassers (47.5%) and complaining to the university or student bodies (3.2%). However, the other victims were more passive by ignoring the harassers (53%) or skipping/dropping the classes (1%) to avoid the harassers.

13. The 2001 survey also showed that about 20-30% of the victims of peer sexual harassment had low self-confidence/self-image as well as feelings of depression, insecurity, and poor sense of belongingness to the institutions subsequent to their sexual harassment experiences. Another 5% also reported worsening of their learning attitudes and academic performance. These reactions were more prominent with women.

Recommendations

14. Education programs on the prevention of peer sexual harassment should be actively promoted on campuses. Students should also be encouraged to openly discuss these issues. In fact, awareness and knowledge about peer sexual harassment should be included in the curriculum of the primary and secondary schools so that the concepts of gender equity and sexual harassment are taught at a young age.

15. The institution's policy on peer sexual harassment and the responsible units should be made known and promoted to the students. Gender equity officers can be nominated in different institutions and departments to bridge the communication between universities and students.

16. The complaining and handling procedures on peer sexual harassment should be made more transparent and revised from time to time to take into consideration of the developing trends. Assistance and counseling services to the victims of peer sexual harassment should also be strengthened.

17. The statistics about peer sexual harassment on the campuses should be disseminated regularly to the students and the campus community. Research on sexual harassment should also be encouraged and promoted so that its trend and impact on the students and learning environment are better known.