بهدف تضييع الوقت ,مفكر حالو محور الكون و بيقدر يعمل اللي بدو ياه: When Men Think They Are the Center of the Universe. A Qualitative Study of Perceived Causes of Sexual Harassment in a Jordanian University Open Access

Abstract

Background: Sexual harassment is a phenomenon that plagues most societies. In the Middle East and North Africa, research on sexual harassment has primarily focused on Egypt and Turkey. Egypt has numerous feminist organizations seeking to eradicate sexual harassment from its society. In contrast to Egypt, there are not as many feminist organizations in Jordan that raise the issue of sexual harassment. Jordan has been experiencing cultural shifts, with more women attending university. These shifts may increase the exposure of sexual harassment for Jordanian women. This qualitative study will examine the perceived root causes of sexual harassment on a Jordanian campus by using the sociocultural theory.

Methods: Data for this study include focus group discussions (N=6) and data from a local data-collection method (FADFED) in which students responded to two questions (N=602 total responses). Guided theory was used for the analysis of data. Four steps were followed for grounded theory analysis: the development of a codebook, testing for inter-coder agreement and codebook revisions, coding of data, and conducting descriptive and comparative analysis. The music, not the dance approach was used to understand how background context influences the focal issues to help recognize underlying systems (social and cultural) that influence sexual harassment.

Results: The data indicated that patriarchy was a perceived cause of sexual harassment, with subthemes of structural power, gender roles & expectations, conservative environment, and tribalism. Sexual harassment was seen as a method for men to exercise power and control over women. Additionally, participants discussed expectations of dress. A woman who violates the norm of dressing conservatively is labeled as indecent, seen as sexually available, and men will then sexually harass her. Male participants also discussed the structural power professors hold and how this may result in them sexually harassing their female students. Alongside the power that professors hold, participants examined the power of tribes and its relation to sexual harassment.

Conclusion: Study findings identify important root causes that warrant sustained action to enhance the safety and well-being of all students. Further research is needed to establish the prevalence of sexual harassment to further guide university policy and practice.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION 1

BACKGROUND & RATIONALE 1

PROBLEM STATEMENT 2

RESEARCH QUESTION 3

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT 3

LITERATURE REVIEW 4

INTRODUCTION 4

SOCIOCULTURAL THEORY 4

GENDER ROLES & EXPECTATIONS 5

MASCULINITY 5

MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA CONTEXT 6

MAJOR EVENTS IN EGYPT 7

LEGAL STRUCTURES IN EGYPT 8

PREVALENCE OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN EGYPT 9

CONTEXT & LEGAL STRUCTURES IN JORDAN 9

EDUCATION IN JORDAN 11

MAJOR EVENTS IN JORDAN 12

PREVALENCE OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN JORDAN 12

SUMMARY 13

METHODOLOGY 15

INTRODUCTION 15

POPULATION & SAMPLE 15

RESEARCH DESIGN & PROCEDURES 16

DATA ANALYSIS 17

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS 19

RESULTS 20

PATRIARCHY 20

GENDER ROLES & EXPECTATIONS 21

STRUCTURAL POWER 23

CONSERVATIVE ENVIRONMENT 24

TRIBALISM 26

DISCUSSION, RECOMMENDATIONS, & CONCLUSION 29

SUMMARY 29

PATRIARCHY 30

TRIBALISM 31

LIMITATIONS 32

REFLEXIVITY 33

NEXT STEPS FOR THE UNIVERSITY 34

CONCLUSION 34

APPENDIX A: CODEBOOK 36

APPENDIX B: FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE 39

REFERENCES 41

About this Master's Thesis

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School	Rollins School of Public Health
Department	Hubert Department of Global Health
Degree	M.P.H.
Submission	Master's Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Sociology, Ethnic and Racial Studies Gender Studies Middle Eastern Studies
Keyword	Tribalism Gender-based violence Gender roles and expectations Conservative environment Sociocultural theory Structural power Jordan University campus Patriarchy Sexual harassment
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Cari Jo Clark, Emory University
Partnering Agencies	International Non-governmental organization (e.g., CARE, Inc.)

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