The Impact of Street Harassment on Anxiety Rates of Female Students at Belmont University

Publication Date

2024

Presentation Length

Poster/Gallery presentation

College

College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences

Department

Public Health, Department of

Student Level

Undergraduate

SPARK Category

Research

Faculty Advisor

Dr. Christian Williams and Dr. Frecia Gonzalez

Metadata/Fulltext

Metadata ONLY

SPARK Session

10:15-11:45, Beaman Poster: Public Health Scientific Inquiry

Presentation Type

Poster

Summary

Background

Street harassment is one of the most pervasive forms of gender-based violence. Despite this, there is a gap in research and policy on street harassment in comparison to more “serious” forms of sexual harassment. Oftentimes, instances of street harassment are simply considered “compliments” despite the burden placed on victims (Fairchild, 2022). The purpose of this study was to understand if female college students have experienced street harassment, (and if so) how often, and at what age it first began. The study further examines students' attitudes toward street harassment and if they experienced during or as a result of street harassment (i.e. were fearful, changed their behaviors).

Methods

A cross-sectional study utilized questions from a modified version of the Sexual Harassment Scale (Hanna, 2019). The survey was administered through Qualtrics and broken into four parts. The first 26 questions used a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1= “Never” to 5= “Extremely Often” to determine the incidence of types of street harassment. Five questions aimed to determine the age of first experience, behavior changes and feelings regarding street harassment. The next 26 questions used a 6-point scale to determine feelings of anxiety resulting from different instances of street harassment. The last question was a qualitative question regarding personal experience. The survey link was sent to Belmont students via email and Groupme and was open for a two-week period in late October 2024 and garnered 13 responses.

Results

The results indicated that in almost every instance of street harassment the majority of participants experienced at least some level of anxiety. The severity of anxiety (mildly anxious in the moment- highly anxious in the moment and afterwards) varied depending on the action/form of street harassment. Seventy-five percent of respondents were street harassed for the first time under the age of 18. Seventy-five percent of respondents stated that they had felt fearful during street harassment while 70% of participants reported changing their route or routine because of street harassment.

Seventeen percent of participants were not anxious about the possibility of street harassment. Around 43% reported feeling mildly anxious and another 42% reported being highly anxious about the possibility of street harassment.

Conclusion

This study indicates that female college students are likely to have experienced street harassment and associated anxiety. Most participants began experiencing street harassment as minors, have changed their behaviors and felt anxiety due to street harassment. It is important to note that out of twenty-six different forms of street harassment only one (“a man exposing himself”) had never been experienced by participants. This indicates a need for more research and policies concerning street harassment.

References

Fairchild, K. (2022, August 4). Understanding street harassment as gendered violence: Past, present, and future - sexuality & culture. SpringerLink. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12119-022-09998-y

Hanna, R. M. (2019, August). “Hey Sexy Thing, Why Don’t You Come Over Here?” Simulated Stranger Harassment and Its Effects on Women’s Emotions and Cognitions. https://atrium.lib.uoguelph.ca/server/api/core/bitstreams/b5a9d9b8-e493-46c9-b97b-2dc6c0238919/content

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