Staff to Student Sexual Misconduct: Lived Experiences of Female Undergraduate Victim-Survivors at a University in Zimbabwe

The study sought to explore female undergraduate students’ lived experiences of sexual misconduct perpetrated against them by male lecturers at one of the universities in Zimbabwe. The sociocultural and organizational theories of sexual misconduct informed a qualitative inquiry using an exploratory research design. To select two groups of respondents, purposive sampling was employed. One group comprised twenty female undergraduate victim-survivors. The other group comprised six university officials tasked with addressing sexual misconducts incidents. These were; a faculty dean, dean of students, two chairpersons of departments, a chaplain and deputy registrar. Data were gathered through individual semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed thematically. Findings indicated that sexual misconduct experiences of victim-survivors took the forms of quid pro quo harassment; offensive sexual comments; touching or groping; stroking; unwanted sexual attention; and asking of intrusive questions. University officials interviewed corroborated victim-survivor accounts of sexual misconduct perpetrated by male lecturers. From the study findings, the following recommendations were proposed. There is a need for the university to establish a reporting centre where victim-survivors go to report without fear or hesitation. The university should have guidelines on research supervision and general consultations that state that these activities are to be carried out between a lecturer and a group of students. Alternatively, the activities could be done virtually. There should be mandatory training of the university community on sexual misconduct issues. Victim-survivors should be empowered to report when sexually abused. A lecturer who is proven beyond any measure of doubt to have sexually abused a student should have his appointment terminated. A sexual misconduct policy should have a clear implementation mechanism known to the university community. The university should have an environment that has zero tolerance for sexual misconduct.

Sexual misconduct, staff–student sexual misconduct, victim-survivor

1. Acker, J. Gender and Organizations. In Handbook of Sociology of Gender and Social Research, Springer, Boston, MA. 177-194 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Adams, J.D., Mabusela, M.S. & Dlamini, E.T. (2013). Sexual Harassment: The “Silent Killer” of female students at the University of Ayoba. South African Journal of Higher Education, 27 (5): 149 – 1163. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Aycock, L.M., Hazari, Z., Brewe, E., Clancy, B.H., Hodapp, T & Goertzen, R.M. (2019). Sexual harassment reported by undergraduate female physicists. Physical Review Physics Education Research, 15: 1-13. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Braun, V. & Clarke, V. (2023). Thematic Analysis: A Practical Guide. In The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research (6th ed) [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Bondestam, F. & Lundqvist, M. (2020). Sexual harassment in higher education – a systematic analysis. European Journal of Higher Education, 10(4): 397- 419. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Bull, A. and Page, T. (2021). The governance of complaints in UK Higher Education: Critically examining remedies for staff sexual misconduct. Social and Legal Studies. 1-23 https://1752group.com/research [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Candela, A.G. (2019). Exploring the Function of Member Checking. The Qualitative Report. 24(3), 619 – 628. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Cantalupo, N. (2011). Burying our hands in the sand: Lack of knowledge, knowledge avoidance and the persistent problem of campus peer sexual harassment. Loyola University Law Journal, 42:205 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Corbin, J. & Straus, A.L. (2015). Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory. 4th edition. SAGE [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Cortina, L.M. & Areguin, M. A. (2021). Putting People Down and Pushing Them Out: Sexual Harassment in the Workplace. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behaviour. Vol. 8 pp285 – 309 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Dhlomo, T.; Muchena & Gunhu, (2015). Sexual Harassment Symptoms: The effect on Female College Students' Academic Functioning. Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 20(8): 40-43. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Elo, S. Karriainen, M. Kauste, O., Polkki, T. Utriainen, K. & Kyngas, H. (2014). Qualitative Content Analysis: A focus on Trustworthiness. SAGE Open 4 (1). (1 – 10) [8] [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Fedina, l., Holmes, J.L. & Backes, B.L. (2018). Campus Sexual Assault: A Systematic Review of Prevalence Research from 2000 to 2015. Trauma, Violence and Abuse, 19(1): 76 – 93. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Flick, U. (2014). The Sage handbook of data analysis. London: Sage Publication Ltd [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Foster, P.J. & Fullager, C.J. (2018). Why Don’t We Report Sexual Harassment? An Application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 40(3): 148-160. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Hendricks, E. & Kanjiri, N.K. (2020). The Upsurge of Sexual Harassment towards Females in Universities in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. African Journal of Gender Society and Development, 9(4): 157-175. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Jamela, C. (2011). Zimbabwe Sexual Harassment in Higher Education. Available at: http://www.wunrn.com/news. Accessed January 11, 2015. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Johnson, P.A., Widnall, S.E. & Benya, F.F. (Eds) (2018). Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. Washington, DC: The National Academic Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Ladebo, O. J. (2003). Sexual Harassment in Academia in Nigeria: How real? African Sociological Review, 7(1): 117-161. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Leiter, B. (2016). Academic Ethics: What shall we do with sexual harassment in Academe? Should they be barred permanently from teaching? The Future of Higher Education Prevention. Centre for Excellence in Higher Education Law and Policy, Steston University. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Kania, R., & Cale, J. (2021). Preventing sexual violence through bystander intervention: Attitudes, behaviors, missed opportunities, and barriers to intervention among Australian University Students. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 36(5-6) 2816 – 2840. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Manhando, E. (2016). Research on Female Students' Experiences in Zimbabwe: Guidelines for sexual harassment. Harare: Students Network Trust. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. Marshall, C., & Rossman, G. (2016). Designing qualitative research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. Mashininga, K. (2021). Sexual harassment to be criminalized to protect students. University World News, Africa Edition. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. Mason, J. (2018). Qualitative Researching. London, Sage. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. Mawere, D., and J. Seroto. 2022. “Academic Contra Power Sexual Harassment in Public Universities in Zimbabwe”. South African Journal of Higher Education 36 (1), 193-206. https://doi.org/10.20853/36-3-4515. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

27. Merriam, S.B. (2009). Qualitative Research: A guide to design and implementation: San Francisco; John Wiley and Sons. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

28. McCormick, M. (2013). Feminist Research Ethics, Informed Consent, and Potential Harms. The Hilltop Review, 6 (1), Article 5. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

29. Mothibi, J., Reddy, V., Meyersfeld, B. & Omar, J. (2013). Independent Inquiry into Allegations of Sexual Harassment at the University of the Witwatersrand. Johannesburg: Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

30. Ndawi, O. P. (2006). Sexual Harassment in institutions of higher learning in Zimbabwe. Gweru: FAWE. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

31. Pina, A., Gannon, T.A. & Saunders, B. (2009). An overview of literature on sexual harassment: Perpetrator, theory and treatment issues. Aggression and Violent Behaviour, 14: 126–138. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

32. Prothero, A. (2018). Why teachers stay silent about sexual assault. Education Week, 38: 1–8. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

33. Punch, K.F. (2013). Introduction to social research: Quantitative and qualitative approaches. London: Sage. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

34. Rubin, H.J. & Rubin, I.S. (2012). Qualitative Interviewing: The Art of Hearing Data. 3rd Edition, Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

35. Sinozich, S. & Langton, L. (2014). Rape and Sexual Assault Victimization among College – Age Females, 1995 – 2013. Washington: Bureau of Justice Statistics. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

36. Sivertsen, B, Nielsen MB, Madsen IEH, Knapstad, M., Lonning, K. J. & Hysing, M. (2018). Sexual harassment and assault among university students in Norway: a cross-sectional prevalence study. BMJ Open 2019;9: e026993. doi:10.1136/ bmjopen-2018-02699 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

37. Spencer, C., Mallory, A., Toews, M., Stith, S., & Wood, L. (2017). Why sexual assault survivors do not report to universities: A feminist analysis: Reporting Sexual Assault. Family Relations, 66(1): 166 – 179. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

38. Strivasta, A. & Thomson, S.B. (2009). Framework Analysis: A Qualitative Methodology for Applied Research. Note Policy Research, 4(2). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

39. Thomas, A. (2015). Incidents of sexual harassment at educational institutions in India: Preventive measures and grievance handling. International Journal of Recent Advances in Multidisciplinary Research, 2(3): 317–322. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

40. Tyson, V. (2019). Understanding the Personal Impact of Sexual Violence and Assault. Journal of Women, Politics and Policy, 40 (1): 174 – 183. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

41. Universities UK. (2022). Changing the culture: Tackling staff-to-student sexual misconduct: Strategic guide for universities. Universities UK [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

42. Weiss, K. G., & Lasky, N. V. (2017). Mandatory reporting of sexual misconduct at college: A critical perspective. Journal of School Violence, 16(3): 259-270. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

43. Yzurdiaga, M., Payne, K. E., & Rabow, J. (2016). Sexual Harassment, Assault, and Rape: College Students Report Their Experiences. European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 12(17), 1. https://doi.org/10.19044/esj.2016.v12n17p1 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• The Impact of Ownership Structure on Dividend Payout Policy of Listed Plantation Companies in Sri Lanka
• Urban Sustainability in North-East India: A Study through the lens of NER-SDG index
• Performance Assessment of Predictive Forecasting Techniques for Enhancing Hospital Supply Chain Efficiency in Healthcare Logistics
• The Fractured Self in Julian Barnes' Postmodern Fiction: Identity Crisis and Deflation in Metroland and the Sense of an Ending
• Impact of Flood on the Employment, Labour Productivity and Migration of Agricultural Labour in North Bihar