Zambezia (1994), XXI (ii).RESEARCH REPORTSEXUAL HARASSMENT IN ZIMBABWE'SINSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATIONFRED ZINDIDepartment of Educational Foundations, University of ZimbabweAbstractThe extent to which sexual harassment takes place in institutions of highereducation such as universities, polytechnics and teachers' colleges isinvestigated in this study. Two thousand seven hundred and fifty-six femalestudents responded to a questionnaire on sexual harassment. After quantitativeand qualitative analysis of the data, the study reveals that in almost everyinstitution of higher learning in Zimbabwe there exists a significant numberof male lecturers who sexually harass female students. Recommendations onhow the situation could be improved in order to create a freer and safercampus environment as well as suggestions for hiture research are made.BACKGROUNDIN 1994, DISTURBING press reports (Bonde, Chavunduka, Win, 1994) aboutthe wives of lecturers at Bondolfi Teachers' Training College beating upfemale students whom they suspected of having sexual relationships withtheir husbands, brought about this researcher's interest in the whole areaof sexual harassment and non-consenting sexual relations, particularly asthis relates to lecturers and students in institutions of higher education.Sexual harassment is often an act perpetrated by men against womenbut when the issue is widened to include unethical intimacy,1 there appearsto be no reason why women should be excluded from carrying thisresponsibility equally. However, in the Zimbabwean context, almost allknown cases of harassment, including rape, are perpetrated by men. Thishas something to do with the culture which suggests that males shouldmake the first move when they desire to form a relationship with females.Although there has been debate on sexual harassment recently bysome Zimbabwean religious bodies and other organizations, there are stillno policy guidelines published specifically for professionals who deal withtrainees on a daily basis. According to a former Chief Justice, Enock1 Unethical intimacy is a situation in which one has a close personal relationship withanother which however, is not in accordance with the rules, moral values or standards forright conduct or practice, especially those standards (or code of ethics) that ought to bemaintained in a given profession. An example would be that of a relationship between a doctorand his/her patient.177178 SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATIONDumbutshena (cited in Taylor and Stewart, 1991, vii) sexual harassment isa legal challenge that must be met by all who pursue human rights inZimbabwe. The University of Zimbabwe Ordinance has some form ofguidelines in disciplinary and ethical codes for staff, but this researcherhas never seen or heard of any public example of someone being disciplinedfor sexual harassment.Win (1994) describes the relationship between students and lecturersas a David and Goliath situation, where the one in power or authority useshis power to get what he wants. She suggests that institutions must designpolicies and grievance procedures for those who are sexually harassed.Singer (1989) conducted a study which demonstrates that those institutionsthat do have a policy designed specifically for sexual harassment andgrievance procedures have a significantly higher number of reports ofharassment than those that do not.In the United States, Glaser and Thorpe (1986) conducted research onsexual harassment among psychology lecturers and their femalepostgraduate students at 16 universities. It was found that postgraduatestudents, because of their face to face contact with supervisors whenseeking advice and supervision in their research studies, were sexuallyharassed more frequently than those females doing undergraduate courses.In the United Kingdom, Garret and Thomas-Peter (1994) also conducted asurvey on sexual harassment in postgraduate colleges as well as in placesof employment. Their study reveals that there is a significant number ofpeople in authority, such as lecturers, doctors and employers, who refuseto accept their moral responsibility, but instead exploit the vulnerabilityof those under them.In the absence of previous Zimbabwean research data on this issueapart from press reports in The Sunday Times, Parade and Moto, TheHerald, The Chronicle and Zimrights News, it seems most probable that theincidence of sexual harassment Š that is, unwelcome sexual advances,requests for sexual favours, unethical intimacy, and other verbal or physicalconduct of a sexual nature Š is under-reported, particularly in thoseinstitutions without policies and procedures for dealing with allegationsof sexual harassment. It is also known that some people in authority oftenimplicitly make it a term or condition of an individual's progress at workor at college to submit to their sexual advances. Individuals who refuse tosubmit are often affected by future employment or grade-award decisions.Such conduct has the effect of substantially interfering with an individual'swork or college performance, or creating an intimidating, hostile oroffensive working environment.There is no doubt that a lot of women, even though they are stillunder-reporting sexual harassment significantly, experience psychologicaleffects such as fear, anger, depression, distress, stress, anxiety, confusion,F. ZINDI 179irritability, loss of self-esteem, feelings of humiliation, helplessness,vulnerability, worry and alienation through harassment at work or college.The relationship between a supervisor and a trainee has parallelswith that between a therapist and a patient (Garret and Thomas-Peter,1994). There is power differential. The doctor-patient issue raises sexualityissues quite frequently and because of the doctor's or therapist's morepowerful position, it is he who should exercise self-control rather thanexploiting the vulnerability of the patient. Similarly lecturers, employersor supervisors, it would seem, should follow their own code of ethics byrecognizing the vulnerability of people under them and avoiding situationsof eroticized transferences. Yet a significant number of them seem reluctantto identify these dynamics and pretend that their actions are guided bynatural impulses. Consequently, they refuse to accept their moralresponsibility in such matters.Win (1994) argues that even though some of those grown-up or marriedwomen appear to have genuinely fallen in love with their lecturers, theyare not really in love. They are simply succumbing to the pressures of themore powerful persons.The initial aim of this study was to address a wide range of issuesincluding peer harassment, alcohol abuse in colleges, violence, date rape,campus safety, student-staff relationships, cultural values and counsellingservices in institutions of higher education. However, after discovery thatthere had been a lot of press coverage in 1994 on sexual harassment offemale students at several teacher training colleges, the emphasis shiftedmainly to the sexual relationships between male lecturers and femalestudents. As a result it was felt that the subject of sexual harassmentneeded to be addressed more immediately than others of the equallyimportant issues mentioned above. Sexual harassment thus becomes thefocus maintained throughout this study.METHODAfter permission was granted by the Ministry of Higher Education toconduct a study on sexual harassment, a sample of 3 500 female studentsfrom 16 institutions of higher education was used to respond to aquestionnaire on sexual harassment. All year groups of students at theUniversity of Zimbabwe and at the Harare Polytechnic were sampled whilein teachers' colleges it was mainly the first and third-year students whoresponded to the questionnaire. The study was conducted over fourmonths from August to November 1994 with the help of 11 researchassistants. In all 2 756 (79%) usable questionnaires were returned foranalysis (see composition of sample, questionnaires distributed andquestionnaires used in Table I below).180 SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATIONFifty-four questionnaires which had been left with authorities at oneteachers' college were responded to by male students despite clearinstructions that the questionnaires were to be distributed to femalerespondents only. These were excluded from the survey. At anotherteachers' college, questionnaires received from third-year students werenot used because they were considered to be biased after some negativeremarks made by one of the authorities during administration. At yetanother college only 10 students responded because the authorities wereuncooperative.Table ICOMPOSITION OF SAMPLE, QUESTIONNAIRES DISTRIBUTEDAND QUESTIONNAIRES USEDName of InstitutionMorgan Zintec CollegeBelvedere Teachers' CollegeUniversity of ZimbabweHarare PolytechnicNational University ofScience and TechnologyHillside Teachers' CollegeBulawayo PolytechnicUnited College of EducationGwanda Zintec CollegeGweru Teachers' CollegeMkoba Teachers' CollegeMutare Teachers' CollegeMarymount Teachers' CollegeChinhoyi Technical CollegeMasvingo Teachers' CollegeBondolfi Teachers' CollegeTOTALSNo. ofQuestionnairesDistributed12012012504501201201201201201501501501201201501203 500No. ofQuestionnairesUsed1111188574391161191201201201371507510710110442 756RELIABILITYA split-half, odd-even reliability was computed using the scores of the2 756 subjects against the 27 questionnaire items. The coefficient, correctedby the Spearman-Brown formula, was 0.76 which shows that the methodused to collect data was to a great extent reliable.F. ZINDI 181RESULTSBoth quantitative and qualitative analyses of the data collected wereconducted.Table 2 below shows the students' responses to the 27 questionnaireitems.Table 2STUDENTS' RESPONSES TO 27 QUESTIONNAIRE ITEMS (N=2 756)Item Brief Description No. of'yes' No. of'no'No. of Item Responses Responses1. Has college existing policy? 243 (8,8%) 2 513 (91%)2. Has anybody been sexuallyharassed? 1 755 (64%) 1 001 (36%)3. Are culprits dealt with effectively? 201 (7,0%) 2 555 (93%)4. Should rival students be failed? 98 (0,03%) 2 562 (94%)5. Should lecturers' wives moleststudent lovers? 203 (7,1%) 2 552 (93%)6. Are student/lecturer affairsproblematic? 2 005 (73%) 750 (27%)7. Would you go out with your lecturer? 36 (1,3%) 2 511 (91%)8. Should lecturers ask you aboutyour sex life? 2(0,007%) 2 754 (99%)9. Ever been asked for sexual favours? 499 (18%) 2 066 (74%)10. Do most lecturers exploit studentvulnerability? 1 756 (64%) 1 000 (36%)11. Would you report sexualharassment? 204 (7,5%) 2 550 (93%)12. Ever submitted to lecturer'ssexual advance? 72 (2,6%) 2 625 (95%)13. Do some lecturers interferewith your studies? 1 003 (36%) 1 755 (64%)14. Is being touched by a lecturerharassment? 1890 (69%) 866 (31%)15. Would you laugh at sexuallysuggestive jokes? 1921 (71%) 725 (26%)16. Is sexual harassment adequatelyreported? 103 (3,7%) 2 639 (96%)17. Ever had sexual feelingsfor own lecturer? 28 (1,0%) 2 728 (97%)18. Know any lecturers whoexploit students? 2 756 (100%) 0 (0,0%)182 SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATIONTable 2 ContinuedItemNo.19.20.21.22.23.24.25.26.27.Brief Descriptionof ItemShould corrupt lecturers bedismissed?Is society aware of sexualproblems?Should there be legislation?Should female students beprotected?Should all colleges havepolicy on sex?Should a Sexual HarassmentOffice be established?Know anyone harassedbut afraid of reporting?Should the governmentintervene?Should students have affairswith their lecturers?No. of 'yes'Responses2 6383662 7552 0632 7542 74917571762(96%)(13%)(99%)(74%)(99%)(99%)(64%)(65%)25 (0,009%)No.of 'no'Responses1182 3901495279699662 728(4,2%)(87%)(0,006%)(17%)(0,001%)(0,002%)(35%)(34%)(98%)GENERAL COMMENTS (N=2 756)After a qualitative analysis of the data, the general comments commonlymade by students from all the 16 institutions were summarized under thefollowing 10 categories:(a) UNDER-REPORTINGTwo thousand five hundred and one students (90%) agreed that incidentsinvolving sexual harassment in colleges are under-reported or not reportedat all for fear of victimization by those in authority.(b) FEAR OF BEING LABELLEDThirty-seven students (1,3%) said that they would not mind going out withtheir lecturers for the purpose of gaining favours. The only reason thatthey have not done so is because of the fear they have of being labelled byother students. They also saw nothing wrong with going out with single(unmarried) lecturers.(c) CORRUPT AUTHORITIESOne thousand seven hundred and sixty-eight students (64%) believed thatmost college lecturers including principals are corrupt. The main questionasked was: 'How can one report sexual harassment by a lecturer withoutF. ZINDI 183the fear of being victimized when the principal or head of department isalso involved in the same thing?' They all believed that the police, Ministryof Education or someone who is not in daily contact with the lecturersshould be the arbitrators in cases of sexual harassment.(d) FREEDOM OF CHOICETwo hundred and thirty-nine (8,6%) students felt that all students over 18years of age are free to go out with whoever they like including lecturers.It is up to the student, as a grown up and thinking adult to decide, even incases where the lecturer is a married man.(e) SPREAD OF AIDS BY MARRIED MENMost lecturers, according to 758 (27,5%) students, are married men. Thosewho sexually harass students are having extra-marital sex at the risk ofspreading AIDS to their wives.(f) VICTIMIZATIONOne thousand two hundred and fifty-two (45%) of female students incolleges felt that they were being given low marks (grades) by certainmale lecturers after they had turned down their sexual advances or aftertheir 'relationships' had gone on the rocks. Generally, they felt that theywere being victimized for saying 'No' to their lecturers.(g) LOSS OF RESPECTAlmost all the students (2 250, 82%) said that they had no respect forlecturers who go out with their students as this disturbs the wholeenvironment under which serious studying is supposed to take place.(h) LEAKAGE OF EXAMINATIONSFive hundred and eighty-six students (21%) surveyed said that they believethat lecturers who have sexual relationships with their students will endup leaking examination papers to them.(i) LEGISLATIONAll the 2 756 subjects (100%) felt that there was need for legislation inorder to protect those students who had no interest in pursuing sexualrelationships with their lecturers.(j) EDUCATIONSeven hundred and fifty-three students (27%) strongly expressed the needfor female students to be educated on their rights. According to them,some students do not know when to say 'No' to someone in authority andoften do not know the difference between a decent proposal and sexual184 SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATIONharassment. They regarded some of the so-called "principals' lectures" asa joke and a waste of time, because, according to them, instead of educatingthe students, corrupt male principals were taking advantage of this privilegein order to exploit and brain-wash female students. They also felt that onlythose people with a proven record of responsibility, good moral values,maturity and strong ethics should be trusted to educate students onsexual matters.DISCUSSIONThe above results reveal that there is no doubt that sexual harassment isrife in institutions of higher education throughout Zimbabwe. Looking atitem 18 in the questionnaire where female students were asked if theyknew any lecturers who 'use their influence to exploit female studentssexually', all the 2 756 said 'yes' to this item. If this premise is correct, itmeans that all the 16 institutions in this study are indeed guilty ofharbouring at least one or two lecturers who exploit students sexually.The press seems to have covered only three teachers' colleges in itsreports, yet the above study reveals that the practice is prevalent in everycollege. It seems therefore that three colleges that received negativepublicity involving sexual abuse, leakage of examination papers and sexdiscrimination were just the ones to be caught out first. Without thispublicity, however, this study would never have been carried out by thisresearcher. Item 24 regarding the establishment of a Sexual HarassmentOffice was also agreed upon by almost all students (2 749 Š 99%). Thisobviously means that almost all female students, including married ones,feel unsafe in colleges.It is not clear why one teachers' college decided to change theinstructions of the survey which stipulated that this initial survey was forfemale students only by proceeding to distribute the questionnaire amongmale students. A covering note also copied to the Secretary of HigherEducation was sent to the researcher suggesting that his topic 'Sexualharassment' was offensive and should have been entitled 'gender issues'.While the researcher agrees with some of these suggestions, it must bepointed out that since the college was not involved in the original researchdesign, instead of trying to change the rules of this particular study, itshould attempt to conduct its own research using all the variables itmentions.In most teachers' colleges it was the first-year and third-year studentswho responded to the questionnaire items. Although it would have beenideal to find out if differences existed between the two year groups, it wasfelt that at this stage the research should focus mainly on the extent towhich sexual harassment is apparent. At the University of Zimbabwe allF. ZIND1 185year groups, first, second and third including some postgraduate studentswere used. Analysis of results in which responses from individual collegesare compared would have also been ideal as reading through the generalcomments made by the University of Zimbabwe students, they seem tohave slightly different experiences from those of their contemporaries inteachers' colleges. University of Zimbabwe students seem ready tochallenge authority in their own right when cases of sexual harassmentoccur. No similar comments were found in the reports made by femalestudents in teachers' colleges. This phenomenon could be explained bythe fact that students at the University of Zimbabwe seem to have agreater freedom of expression than those in teachers' colleges. Anotherpossibility is that due to the large numbers of students at the University,their community is not as closed-in as those in teachers' colleges, wherestudents have daily contact with authorities and are more restricted byrules of conduct.However, it is important to note that only 499 (18%) of the 2 756students surveyed said that they had actually been asked for sexualfavours by their lecturers (item 9). While sexual harassment is prevalent,it is obvious that not every single male lecturer is guilty of it. The culpritsof sexual harassment are actually in the minority as revealed in this study.What is particularly worrying though is the fact that 93% of the studentssaid that they would not report sexual harassment (item 11) to any authorityfor fear of victimization or because they do not believe that the presentstructures are set to protect them.RECOMMENDATIONS(i) There is a need for students and their trainees to be educated onwhat constitutes sexual harassment,(ii) Proper reporting procedures on sexual harassment in collegesshould be set up immediately. These should give students theassurance that there will be no victimization should they makereports about incidents that involve those in authority. At themoment there is under-reporting because of fear of the negativeconsequences of doing so.(iii) Strong disciplinary measures, including dismissal, must be takenagainst lecturers who sexually harass female students,(iv) Legislation which protects female students from sexual harassmentmust be introduced as there seems to be an unwillingness on thepart of society to recognize the problem,(v) There is a need for counselling services for students in every college.These should include both experts in the field as well as lecturersand students.186 SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION(vi) Any policy seeking to encourage the maintenance of professional,non-exploitative relationships between lecturers and students mustinclude specific reference to propriety and responsibility of lecturersand must provide guidelines for their conduct.CONCLUSIONAll training institutions in Zimbabwe have a responsibility to discouragesexual harassment and unethical intimacy as a matter of explicit policy.There is therefore a need to legislate against such harassment as well asadopting a set of guidelines which raise the consciousness of both lecturersand their trainees about the issue. Offenders such as supervisors of studentson teaching practice should either be rehabilitated or excluded fromteachers' colleges depending on the seriousness of the offence. This way,it is hoped that those with power over students will in future give thisissue a great thought before they act.Future research on this topic which should include other variablessuch as peer harassment, college violence, and a comparison of thebehaviour of students in different colleges is essential.ReferencesBONDE, D., 'Smoke with fire', Moto (1994), CXXXVIII, 7.CHAVUNDUKA, M., 'Sexual harassment at Bondolfi mission', Parade (May,1994), 30-31.'Groundsman and innocent lecturers made scapegoats', The Chronicle (26Nov., 1994).GARRET, T. AND THOMAS-PETER, B., 'Sexual harassment', The Psychologist(1994), V, (vii), 319-21.GLASER, R. D. AND THORPE, J. S., 'Unethical intimacy: A survey of sexualcontact and advances between psychology educators and femalegraduate students', American Psychologist (1986), XXXXI, (i), 43-51.'Examination cheats undermine system', The Herald (18 October, 1994).SINGER, T. L, 'Sexual harassment in graduate schools of social work',Journal of Social Work Education (1989), LXVIII, (i), 68-76.TAYLOR, J. R. AND STEWART, S., Sexual and Domestic Violence: Help, Recoveryand Action in Zimbabwe (Harare, A. Von-Glehn and Taylor Publishers,1991).WIN, E., 'Love or sexual harassment?', Parade (August, 1994).ZIMRIGHTS, 'Sexual abuse at schools and universities', Zimrights News(September, 1994).