Abstract
AbstractBackgroundGender-based violence is a tool that primarily functions to maintain gendered power hierarchies. As manifestations of gender-based violence, sexual assault and street harassment have been shown to have significant effects on mental wellbeing in the global North, however there is little research centering the experiences and consequences of gendered harassment in the Africa region.MethodsWe analyzed a cross-sectional random sample of women attending a major university in Eswatini in 2017 to measure the prevalence of street harassment among female university students and assess the relationship between experiences of sexual assault, sexualized street harassment, and mental health outcomes in this population.ResultsWe found that in the previous 12 months, women reported experiencing high levels of sexual assault (20%), street harassment (90%), and depression/anxiety (38%). Lifetime sexual assault, past 12 months sexual assault, and street harassment were all significantly associated with symptoms of depression. We created a structural model to test hypothesized causal pathways between street harassment, previous experiences of sexual assault, and symptoms of depression, with social support as a potential mediator. We found that a history of sexual violence significantly mediated the association between street harassment and depression, and that social support mediated a large proportion of the association between both forms of gender-based violence and depression.ConclusionSexualized street harassment is associated with increased anxiety and depression for nearly all women, however the effects are especially pronounced for women who have previous experiences of sexual violence. Sexualized street harassment functions as a tool to maintain gendered power hierarchies by reminding women of ongoing threat of sexual violence even in public spaces. Social support and solidarity among women is a potentially important source of resiliency against the physical and mental harms of all forms of gender based violence.
Publisher
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Reference56 articles.
1. Fileborn B , O’Neill T. From “Ghettoization” to a Field of Its Own: A Comprehensive Review of Street Harassment Research. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse. 0(0):15248380211021608.
2. Wamoyi J , Ranganathan M , Mugunga S , Stockl H. “It Gives You a Feeling of Pride when You Touch Her”: The Role of Masculinity in Sexual Harassment of Adolescent Schoolgirls in Tanzania. Journal of Interpersonal Violence.
3. Communicating by catcalling: power dynamics and communicative motivations in street harassment;Violence against women,2021
4. Effects of street harassment on anxiety, depression, and sleep quality of college women;Sex Roles,2020
5. The mediating role of perceived safety on street harassment and anxiety;Psychology of Violence,2016
Cited by
1 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献