Sex, grades and power in higher education in Ghana and Tanzania

Abstract

Quantitative increases tell a partial story about the quality of women's participation in higher education. Women students' reporting of sexual harassment has been noteworthy in a recent study that I directed on widening participation in higher education in Ghana and Tanzania. The hierarchical and gendered power relations within universities have naturalised a sexual contract in which some male academics consider it a right to demand sex with female students in return for grades. These practices of transactional sex involve spatial and cognitive injustice as they contribute to social pressures for women reflexively to minimise their visibility and academic performance. The construction of female sexuality as a commodity and an object of barter also produces negative female learner identities. If women fail, this is evidence of lack of academic abilities and preparedness for higher education. If they achieve, this is attributed to women's 'favoured' position in gendered academic markets. © 2011 University of Cambridge, Faculty of Education

Sexual harassment in higher education – a systematic review

“…In studies on sexual harassment in higher education from regions other than north/west, different issues are in the foreground, such as unwanted pregnancies or HIV prevention, or various direct and indirect consequences of poverty (access issues, support requirements). More concrete problems are also addressed regularly, for example demands from male teachers for sexual services from female students in order for them to receive a valid examination certificate from their studies (Morley 2011). During the last ten-year period a profound change has occurred though, with young researchers contributing new concepts and perspectives (not least intersectionality), new forms of exposure are focused (sexual harassment online, experiences of minorities), and a recapture of theories on violence, structure and organization can be discerned.…”

Examining the Barriers to Reporting Sexual Harassment in Universities

“…While anti sexual harassment policies often make it clear that submission to quid pro quo harassment does not erase the wrong in it (Baker, 1995); the complexity of the problem is that those who submit to it will most likely not report it thus making it invisible. When quid pro quo goes unpunished, it has repercussions for women as a group and specifically women in academia as it produces 'negative female learner identities' where the achievements of women in higher education are attributed to sexual favors (Morley, 2011).…”

Measurement and prevalence of sexual harassment in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…3 In line with the ILO definition, the hierarchical and gendered power relations within occupational or educational settings have naturalised a sexual contract in which some male colleagues or academics consider it a right to demand sex with female juniors or students in return for career progression or grades. 6 Some studies, primarily from high-income settings, have shown that those who report experiencing sexual harassment in the workplace typically report decreased job satisfaction, 7 psychological distress including anxiety, anger and depression, 8 as well as physical distress such as weight loss, fatigue and even symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. 9 Economic hardship due to job loss can occur when victims quit their position or are fired as retaliation for reporting; this, alongside lost opportunities for career advancement are serious economic consequences of sexual harassment.…”