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Role Of Personality Traits, Physical Attractiveness And Gender On Sexual Harassment
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Women were sexually harassed long before there was a term for it under
slavery. African- American women were sexually used by white masters
been targets of sexual abuse since industrialization, women working in
factions and offices have to endure sexual comments and demands by
bosses and co-workers as the price for economic survival. As been
sexually prey to teachers for as long as they have been allowed to be
educated. On the streets and in the homes, sexual pressures that women
are not in a position to refuse have been invisible but pervasive. The
exchange of sex for survival conditions of Coercion that defines
prostitution has also marked women and men’s unequal relations
throughout and forms that violence (Martha, 2003).
Of all forms of
violence that women can assume, sexual harassment is the most ubiquitous
and insidious, all the more so because it is deemed “normal†behaviour
and not an assault on the female entity. It affects women in all
settings whether public or private and has psychological, medical,
social, political, legal and economic implications. Instances of sexual
harassment should be contused as a gendered aggression against the
rights and dignity of women. The fact that its promiscuous effects are
visible globally, discounts any effort to view it with less gravity that
it deserves (Srinivasan, 1998).
Power and status differences are
almost at the heart of sexual harassment. Harassment has a desire to
exert control, humiliate, achieve and maintain dominance. A belief that
women are inferior and should be kept in a submissive role is often part
of a harassers’ mentality. The variable that gives rise to sexual
violence are undoubtedly numerous and complex. Gender based
socialization and social control at the family and societal level is at
the root of sexual violence against women. The discrepancy between the
norms, values, expectations and sanctions imposed on girls and those on
boys because of the socially structured gender inequality is a critical
factor. Men are given unlimited freedom right from childhood. Sanctions
are imposed only on the girls and almost none on boys. Therefore, sexual
harassment can be perceived as an outgrowth of gender biased
socialization process and a mechanism by which men assert power and
dominance over women.
Media plays a significant role in shaping
notions about gender roles and gender identities. The portrayal of
violence against women such as sexual harassment in any of the media
advertising, films and newspapers as something normal has aided sexual
harassment. Reporting of sexual offences is one of the most effective
way of showing where power lies in our society. It lays in the hand of
the image makers men. To accept the media makers excuses that we are not
creating reality, we are only reflecting it, is to accept that sexual
violence against women such as sexual harassment is a fundamental part
of the relationship between the sexes (thus deserving accurate
reflections) rather than a symptom of the way men and women are taught
to view each other. (Davis et al, (ed) 1987).
Personality has to do with individual differences among people in behaviour patterns, cognition and emotion.
Personality
describes within individual cross-situation consistency in broad
classes of behaviour. Personality characteristics as assessed by self
report are temporarily stable correlated with objective measure of
behaviour (Mathews, Deary & Whiteman, 2003) and predict important
life outcomes such as health, (Neelman, System, & Wadsworth, 2001)
sexual behaviour (Eysenck 1970), social networks (Swickert, Rosentreter,
Hilttner, & Mushrush, 2002), and marital adjustment (Kelly &
Conley, 1987).
Some research has lent support to the idea that risky
sexual behaviour such as sexual harassment is associated with a number
of personality traits. For example, cooper (2000) suggested that risky
sexual behaviour like sexual harassment is driven by neuroticism (with
the motive to regulate negative effect) and that extraversion drives the
use of risky behaviour which sexual harassment is an example in order
to enhance positive affective experiences (Cooper, 2000).
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ABSRACT - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]This study examined the role of personality traits, physical attractiveness and gender on sexual harassment.A total of 300 participants comprising of 200 females and 100 males were all used for the study. The participants were students of Ebonyi state university and school of health technology Ezzamgbo.A 28 item Eysenck personality questionnaire of yes or no options were used to measure personality of participants. While a fifteen items yes/no options questionnaire were used in measuring physi ... Continue reading---
