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Article Type

Original Study

Abstract

Background Sexual harassment (SH) of students has recently become a topic of interest to researchers and the general public alike. Although numerous studies document its frequency, the development of conceptual models identifying the prevalence and consequences of harassment has proceeded at a slower pace. Objectives The study aimed at studying the prevalence of SH among female students of Menoufia University and its effects. Patients and methods A cross-sectional study was carried out on 1940 female university students (972 students in practical faculties and 968 students in theoretical ones), over a period of 7 months, between 15 March to 30 October 2015. The interview sites included classes of Menoufia University. Results The study shows the effectiveness of community-based targeted questionnaires in identifying SH among 1940 female university students. The prevalence of SH was 65.3% among the total studied number (64.6% in practical faculties and 65.9% among theoretical ones) (P = 0.548). The prevalence of different types of SH was as follows: verbal type, 76.5%; following, 12.8%; touching, 20.3%; and physical violence, 1.1%. A number of risk factors were behind exposure to SH, such as wearing tight clothes (odds ratio = 2.88, 2.01–4.11) and wearing hot colors (odds ratio = 2.11, 1.65–2.70). The effects of SH were as follows: feeling insecure (56.7%), depression (25.0%), self- reproach (15%), revenge desire (9.3), and denial (8.9%). Conclusion SH is prevalent in Menoufia Governorate with many serious effects.

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