Social and gender norms related to dress code as a driver of sexual harassment: a case study of Makerere University, Uganda

Abstract

This study focused on the social and gender norms associated with dress code as a driver of Sexual Harassment at Makerere University. The general objective of the research study was to examine the social and gender norms associated with dress code as drivers of sexual harassment at Makerere University. The specific objectives included: establishing the student‟s and staff‟s understanding of sexual harassment; examining the social and gender norms related to female and male dress code, exploring the influence of the social and gender norms associated with female and male dress code on sexual harassment at Makerere University and finding out student‟s and staff‟s suggestions on shifting the negative norms related to dress code as a driver of sexual harassment. The main research approach was qualitative and it provided perceptions and experiences of students and staff through a case study of Makerere University. Two units were purposively selected namely College of business and Management Sciences (COBAMS) and College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS )where the participants were randomly selected. The methods of data collection included key informant interviews, focus group discussions and in-depth/individual interviews. One of the key findings is that majority of the participants agreed that Sexual Harassment takes on the form of forced sex or any other sexual activity like kissing without one‟s consent. On dress code, it was observed that different societies, families, religious institutions and cultures have defined how men and women should dress as most of the participants said. These institutions were noted to have set up the rules on how one should dress. While some participants argued that dress code is one of the major drivers of sexual harassment especially the female dress code, others contradicted saying that dress code is an influencer to a very less extent. Participants suggested that information on sexual harassment should be disseminated through orientations and trainings so that morality especially in terms of behavior is promoted rather than considering dress code as the under lying problem. The study findings show that dress code at Makerere University cannot be standard because of the fact that the institution comprises of different people from different societies with different styles of dress.