Abstract
The aim of the study was to investigate victimization from sexual harassment, and level of emotional
distress due to it, are associated with four other types of victimization. A questionnaire was completed by
280 female university students and lecturers in Ghana. The mean age was 26.7 years (SD = 6.2). The
questionnaire included scales for measuring frequency of sexual harassment, emotional distress due to
sexual harassment, physical punishment during childhood, victimization from peer aggression at school,
and victimization from intimate partner aggression. Respondents who were more than average victimized
from sexual harassment scored significantly higher on physical punishment during childhood, victimization
from peer aggression at school (revictimization), and victimization from intimate partner aggression
(multiple victimization).When frequency of sexual harassment was controlled for, emotional distress
caused by sexual harassment correlated positively with victimization from peer aggression at school, and
victimization from verbal intimate partner aggression, thus suggesting sensitization to aggression.
Victimization from sexual harassment was associated with higher levels of both previous and simultaneous
victimization from other types of aggression, thus corroborating the principles of both revictimization and
multiple victimization. The finding does not suggest that sexual harassment in all cases is associated with
other types of victimization.
Keywords: sexual harassment, revictimization, emotional distress, Ghana
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1–20 |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| Journal | Journal of Educational, Health and Community Psychology |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Publication status | Published - Mar 2020 |
| MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |