Knowledge, Distribution, Dimensions and Barriers in Reporting of Sexual Harassment in Female Medical Students of Public College of Rawalpindi

Objective: The aim of this study is to identify different forms of sexual harassment that female medical students face, environment in which it is most prevalent, effects on future career choices, and determine steps to mitigate workplace sexual harassment.Study Design: Cross sectional study design.Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out at Department of Community Medicine, Rawalpindist st Medical University, Rawalpindi from 1 February, 2020 to 1 March, 2020.Materials and Methods: A quantitative, cross-sectional descriptive design was used in this study. The targetpopulation of the study was registered female students at Rawalpindi Medical University, with a sample size of166. Questionnaire was used for data collection and data was analysed using Statistical Package for SocialSciences (SPSS) Version 23.0 program. The basic ethical principles were observed, and the ethical clearancecertificate was obtained prior to data collection.Results: According to our study, highest number of respondents were 3rd year students (46), 81% reported thatthey have experienced any form of sexual harassment, 42% reported fear of it happening in their personalcontext in medical institute, 83% said that it may influence their future career choices. Most frequent form ofsexual harassment they experienced is starring and leering (72%), while most susceptible / vulnerable time isduring night (62%), college transport buses are reported as the most frequent place (15%), conductors anddrivers are the most common perpetrators (24%). In our study, major barrier in low reporting of sexualharassment is fear of victimization (34%).Conclusion: This study shows that female students in university are experiencing different forms of sexualharassment.