Sexual Harassment and Effect on Students’ Self-Esteem in Selected Public and Private Secondary Schools in Kenya
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Date
2019
Authors
Ondicho, Naom
Kombo, Kisilu
Njuguna, Felicita W.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
International Knowledge Sharing Platform
Abstract
Sexual Harassment (SH) is a global phenomenon and a pervasive problem that affects thousands of students in
learning institutions daily yet there are few studies exploring its effect on students’ self-esteem especially from the
Kenyan context. Sexual harassment is also considered a risk factor for lifelong problems including psychological
ill-health and poor self-esteem. The purpose of this study was to describe and explore sexual harassment in and its
effect on students’ self-esteem. The study was done in selected public and private secondary schools in 2
purposively sampled Counties in Kenya. The study was guided by a theoretical framework based on Finkelhor and
Browne’s Traumagenic Dynamics Model. The design of the study was descriptive survey targeting 23,659
students, 88 Deputy Principals and 88 Heads of G/C. Samples were obtained through purposive and proportionate
simple random sampling. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected using a School Sexual Harassment
Questionnaire (SSHQ), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), interview and Focus Group Discussion (FGDs)
guides. Content validity was determined by seeking expert judgments. Cronbach alpha technique was used to
measure the reliability of the research instruments. Quantitative data were analyzed both descriptively and
inferentially using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) while qualitative data were analyzed based
on emerging themes and presented in narrative and verbatim forms. Findings indicated that verbal sexual
harassment had a significant effect on students’ self-esteem whereas effects of physical and visual sexual
harassment were not statistically significant.
Description
A research article published in Journal of Education and Practice
Keywords
Sexual harassment, forms, students’ self-esteem, effect
Citation
Journal of Education and Practice. Vol.10, No.21, 2019