THE STUDY OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT AMONG FEMALE STUDENTS IN COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, EKIADOLOR-BENIN

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Sexual harassment is a serious problem for all student at all educational levels. Students in elementary and secondary schools as well as vocational schools, apprenticeship programmes, colleges and universities can be victims of sexual harassment. This problem is more common than you might think because many students are scared or too embarrassed to report sexual harassment. Harassment can include unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favours and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature. Sexual harassment also include intimidation, bullying or coercion of a sexual nature or the unwelcome or inappropriate promises of rewards in exchange for sexual favours. In most modern legal contexts, sexual harassment is illegal. Harassment does not have to be of a sexual nature, however, and can include offensive remarks about a person’s sex. For example, it is illegal to harass a woman by making offensive comments about women in general. Both victims and the harasser can either be a woman or a man, and the victim and the harasser can also be of the same se. although the law doesn’t prohibit simple teasing, of hand comments, or isolated incidents that are not very serious, harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victims being fired or demoted). The harasser can be the victim’s supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a coworker or someone who is not an employee of the employer such as client or customer. It includes a range of bahaviour from seemingly mind (dubious discuss) transgressions and annoyances to actual sexual abuse or sexual assault. Sexual harassment is a form of illegal employment discrimination in many countries and is a form of abuse (sexual and psychological) and bullying for many businesses and other organization, preventing sexual harassment and defending employees from sexual harassment charges, have become key goals of legal decision-making.

Effects of sexual harassment can vary depending on the individual, and severity and duration of the harassment, often, sexual harassment incidents fall into the category of the “merely annoying”. However, many situations can and do have life altering effects particularly when they involve severe/chronic abuses and or retaliation against a victim who complains about it openly. Indeed psychologists and social workers report that severe/chronic sexual harassment can have the same psychological effects as rape or sexual assault. (Koss, 1987). For example in 1995, Judith Coflin committed suicide aer chronic sexual harassment by her boss and co-workers. Moreover, every year, sexual harassment cost hundreds of millions of dollars is lost educationally and professionally, mostly for girls and women (Boland, 2002). However, the quantity of men implied in these conflicts is significant. Sexual harassment has reduced many students ability to participate in extracurricular activities or attend classes.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS

Sexual harassment still exists in College of Education, Ekiadolor-Benin. It is also highlighted by the fact that in 2010, a computer science lecturer of the College was demoted from a higher office after he was accused of sexually harassing female students of the Department