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Public Sexual Harassment: The Perceptions of Men and Women About How
Women Dresses Themselves in Public Places

Aballe, J.C., Bandija, J. V., Quinones, J. J., Caballero, M. I., Catacutan, C.M.,
Lizada, K. F. E., & Quiroda, N. A.

INTRODUCTION

Women have freedom to dress as they please but that doesn’t mean that

they are degrading themselves. Studies suggest that women's clothing is a factor

in offences (such as sexual assault), while other studies suggest that clothing is

not a factor in determining who is the victim (Beiner, 2007). The public sexual

harassment is one of the major problems the Philippines is facing nowadays.

Sexual harassment is a gender’s behavior linked to inappropriate sexual

behavior. It is characterized by a variety of offensive ways including kissing,

winking, groping, sexual commentary, pinching, telling sexual jokes, spreading

sexual humor, displaying porn videos, drawing sexual nature pictures, and

touching women’s private organs.(Gekoskie, et. Al. 2015) Therefore, these

inappropriate behaviors towards women can violate their basic rights and dignity

associated with mild to severe health acts (Pina, et al 2009). Psychological,

(anxiety, decrease in self-esteem, sleep disorder, depression, etc.) economic,

and social consequences result from women’s sexual harassment (Willness, et al

2007). Research have also shown that the harassment remained silent or

ignored by students and women because responding or speaking against the

harassment would lead to further violence or harassment (Johannesburg, 2011).

In Philippines statistics, 88% among women between the ages 18-24 years,
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sexual harassment has occurred at least once. There are many reasons why

women get sexually harassed in public places. And one of the reasons is the way

women dress.

According to Dean Burnnet (2018), the idea that women are able to dress

in a way that causes such a strong sexual arousal response is created beyond

the limits of self-control. The woman decided to look like she does, the man had

no choice to get so excited, so the fault lies with her. Legally, it's not working at

all. He maintains independence regardless of how a woman is dressed; even if

he desperately wants sex, it remains her choice as to who she has sex with. A

woman may choose to wear an appealing outfit, but without permission or

invitation it is still the man's choice to grope her.

According to Anneth Lynch (2007), men routinely attribute sexual intent to

certain kinds of women’s clothing and behavior. Therefore, the outfit of a woman

can be considered sexually suggestive even if she has no intention or desire to

deliberately provoke sex. In a society where the appearance of women is highly

scrutinized, a woman may choose to wear sexualized clothing for different

reasons. For example, she might wear more revealing clothes to work because

she believes her career will be helped by appearing attractive. Furthermore,

modern fashions are often more revealing than previous decades' fashions, so a

woman could choose to reveal clothes out of a desire to look cutting-edge

(Loofthouse, 2010).

According to Dr Zobaiyda Nasreen, Associate Professor in the

Department of Anthropology at the University of Dhaka said, “Five -year-old

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children are being raped. Can we really blame clothes for crimes like that?

There was a time when women in this country did not even wear blouses

with saris. The rate of sexual harassment was much lower back then. How

can outfits be the reason behind rape then?” Bangla Tribune Chief Reporter

Udisa Islam also stated, “While reporting on the topic of rape and its relation

to clothing, I have spoken to many people. I have understood that whenever

people talk about rape and clothing, it is always about women’s clothing and

not men’s clothing. It is not logical to only blame outfits for rape. Just

because a person is sexually aroused, it does not give him the right to

attack anyone in sight. Restraint needs to be taught and practiced, even

when a person is sexually excited they need to keep this in mind.” A teacher

of New Earth Kindergarten and cyclist Salma Akhter Runi said that the lack

of punishment is one of the major causes behind the rise in rape and sexual

harassment at the round table discussion.

The clothes challenge the negative idea that a woman's clothing

instigates her assault. Exhibitors encourage audiences to crack this stigma

— sexual violence is never the fault of the victim. Each outfit is

accompanied by its owner's true and chilling story: from catcalling,

harassment in the workplace, to child molestation and date rape. The

assaults hit in daily scenes in all aspects.

A teenage girl will receive lewd comments every morning from a

construction worker walking to school. Ultimately, to escape the man, she d iverted
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to a longer route.Operating in her office, a woman suffered th ree years of her

colleagues' incessant demands for sexual favors — making her feel humiliated and

lose focus at work. A 13-year-old girl was raped by her uncle in her room. Her

mother was afraid of the consequences of telling her father when she told her

mother about the incident. Silently, the girl succumbed to the pain (Soriano, 2019).

The Ateneo de Davao University believes that in accordance with Christian

values, each member of the academic community must be treated with respect

and dignity. Sexual harassment impedes the Ateneo de Davao University's pursuit

of ideals. The Ateneo de Davao University considers sexual harassment to be an

unacceptable behavior because it violates the Ateneo Educator's Code of Ethics

and the 1995 Anti-Sexual Harassment Act. Any director, member of the staff, or

employee engaging in sexual misconduct is subject to disciplinary action, including

termination of employment.

In this study, not only the women’s perception this paper attempts to identify

but also the views of men towards sexual harassment. The paper also sought to

understand which women found most dissatisfied with the current state of affairs

and the improvements they wanted to feel safer in the region.

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PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to discover the

perceptions of men and women about how women dress themselves in

public places for senior high school students at Holy Child College of

Davao, Jacinto Campus.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

This research study aims to know the insights of people, specifically:

a) Identify the perceptions of men and women towards how women dress

themselves in public places.

b) Determine if clothing can really be the cause of sexual harassment.

c) Discuss how can women overcome this problem

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

This research study seeks to find answers as to how women dress

themselves really the reason why they get sexually harassed, specifically it will

seek to find answers to the following questions:

1. Do all men feel sexual pleasure seeing women wearing showy clothes?

2. Is it really women’s fault why they get sexually harassed?

3. Is it normal for men to feel sexual pleasure seeing women wearing showy

clothes?

4. Where does it usually happen?

5. How can women overcome this kind of problem?