PEER SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND COPING MECHANISMS OF FEMALE STUDENTS IN A NIGERIAN UNIVERSITY

This study was designed to investigate the prevalence and nature of peer sexual harassment among female Nigerian university students. It also examined the perception of students about peer sexual harassment and ascertained the coping mechanisms adopted by victims of peer sexual harassment. Participants consisted of 387 female undergraduate students selected by convenience sampling from three Faculties at the Obafemi Awolowo University. A self-constructed instrument with a test-retest reliability coefficient of 0.79 was administered on students to collect data on their experience and perception of peer sexual harassment as well as adopted coping strategies. The results of the study indicated that verbal harassment was the most frequent type of peer sexual harassment experienced by female students. Findings from the study also showed that most victims of peer sexual harassment did not report their harassment to authorities but adopted strategies that did not involve direct confrontation with their harassers. The study concluded that there was the need for a virile counselling programme in all Nigerian universities to stem down the incidence of peer sexual harassment and that such a programme should be targeted not only at victims but also at perpetrators of sexual harassment