Experience of Sexual Harassment among Female Students in Alexandria University

Background: Sexual harassment is a pervasive issue that affects women worldwide, endangeringtheir safety, health, and self-respect. It is especially common among young women in Egyptiancommunities, despite efforts to combat it. Objective: To explore sexual harassment experience amongfemale students in Alexandria University. Settings: The study was carried out in all Faculties affiliated toAlexandria University. They accounted for 19 faculties. Subjects: A convenient sample of 650 femaleuniversity students was selected from the previously mentioned settings by using the proportionalallocation method. Tools: one tool was used. Part one:” Socio-Demographic Characteristics of FemaleUniversity Students and Their Families”. Part two: “Female University Students' Opinion about SexualHarassment Questionnaire”. Part three: “Female University Students' Exposure to Sexual Harassment".Part four:" Female University Students' Response & Coping to Sexual Harassment. Results: The majorityof the female students were exposed to sexual harassment, which was perpetrated mainly by strangersfollowed by colleagues and relatives. Moreover, sexual harassment occurred mainly in the street,transportation, recreational places, educational institutions, and to a lesser extent at home. Most of thestudied students had good opinion and knowledge about sexual harassment, but less than half of them hadno knowledge about the Egyptian efforts to combat sexual harassment. Additionally, less than threequartersof studied students didn't know about the existence of the anti-violence unit at AlexandriaUniversity. Furthermore, avoidance and confrontation were the most frequently used coping strategies bythe victims of female students. Conclusion: Although most of the studied students had a good knowledgeabout sexual harassment, but they were exposed to sexual harassment in a high percentage.Recommendations: Educational campaigns and programs should be run to inform university studentsabout Alexandria University's anti-violence unit and Egyptian efforts to prevent sexual harassment,including laws that punish offenders and a hotline for reporting incidents.