PMID- 38100165
OWN - NLM
STAT- PubMed-not-MEDLINE
LR  - 20240101
IS  - 1929-0748 (Print)
IS  - 1929-0748 (Electronic)
IS  - 1929-0748 (Linking)
VI  - 12
DP  - 2023 Dec 15
TI  - Investigating the Culture Around Sexual Harassment in First-Generation 
      Universities in Southwestern Nigeria: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study.
PG  - e49126
LID - 10.2196/49126 [doi]
LID - e49126
AB  - BACKGROUND: The phenomenon of sexual harassment (SH) is a complex issue with 
      multiple prongs that concerns all members of academia and raises serious 
      challenges, particularly regarding prevention and response. SH in tertiary 
      institutions remains a huge problem worldwide, leading to severe emotional, 
      academic, and career difficulties, as well as undue suffering. Institutions have 
      responded in various ways to alleviate the burden of SH with little success, 
      especially in Nigeria. The prevalence is high but reportage is low because of the 
      culture of silence around SH in most educational institutions. This study aims to 
      identify factors associated with SH in tertiary institutions in Nigeria and 
      explore factors surrounding reportage or nonreportage following the experience of 
      SH, the institutional mechanisms to prevent and respond to SH, and the lived 
      experience of survivors of SH. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to 
      present a study protocol that is designed to identify factors associated with the 
      experience of SH in tertiary institutions in Nigeria, the institutional 
      mechanisms to prevent and respond to SH, and the lived experience of survivors of 
      SH. METHODS: A mixed (quantitative and qualitative) methods approach is used 
      consisting of a policy review of existing antisexual harassment policies in the 
      selected universities, a quantitative survey to determine the correlates of SH, 
      focus group discussions to explore the perspectives of the university community 
      concerning SH, in-depth interviews to explore the lived experiences of survivors 
      of SH, and key informant interviews to understand the perspectives of people who 
      provide interventions to survivors. RESULTS: This study was funded in July 2022 
      by the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa, and data collection 
      started in November 2022. The SH policies were comprehensive, with clear policy 
      statements and definitions, and recognized a wide range of survivors and 
      perpetrators. However, there was no clear mention of prevention and response to 
      same-sex SH. Lived experiences showed negative psychological and social sequelae 
      and little institutional support. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study that has a 
      component investigating same-sex SH in tertiary institutions in Nigeria. This is 
      also one of the first studies to explore the lived experiences of survivors of SH 
      in Nigerian universities. The findings from this study suggest that periodic 
      evaluation of SH policy implementation will improve institutional support, thus 
      creating safe spaces for survivors and will thereby encourage reportage and 
      support; prevention and response strategies need to be more inclusive; and more 
      interventions should focus on strengthening prosocial skills and healthy, 
      equitable relationships. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): 
      DERR1-10.2196/49126.
CI  - (c)Boladale Mapayi, Ibidun Oloniniyi, Olakunle Oginni, Abigail Harrison. Originally 
      published in JMIR Research Protocols (https://www.researchprotocols.org), 
      15.12.2023.
FAU - Mapayi, Boladale
AU  - Mapayi B
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-0596-2132
AD  - Department of Mental Health, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Health 
      Sciences, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.
FAU - Oloniniyi, Ibidun
AU  - Oloniniyi I
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-2272-5155
AD  - Department of Mental Health, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Health 
      Sciences, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.
FAU - Oginni, Olakunle
AU  - Oginni O
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-2340-9429
AD  - Department of Mental Health, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Health 
      Sciences, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.
FAU - Harrison, Abigail
AU  - Harrison A
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-1673-8486
AD  - Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI, United States.
LA  - eng
GR  - WT_/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom
PT  - Journal Article
DEP - 20231215
PL  - Canada
TA  - JMIR Res Protoc
JT  - JMIR research protocols
JID - 101599504
PMC - PMC10757226
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - Nigeria
OT  - SH
OT  - institutions
OT  - protocol
OT  - sexual harassment
OT  - support
OT  - universities
COIS- Conflicts of Interest: None declared.
EDAT- 2023/12/15 12:42
MHDA- 2023/12/15 12:43
PMCR- 2023/12/15
CRDT- 2023/12/15 11:52
PHST- 2023/05/18 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2023/11/23 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2023/10/22 00:00 [revised]
PHST- 2023/12/15 12:43 [medline]
PHST- 2023/12/15 12:42 [pubmed]
PHST- 2023/12/15 11:52 [entrez]
PHST- 2023/12/15 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - v12i1e49126 [pii]
AID - 10.2196/49126 [doi]
PST - epublish
SO  - JMIR Res Protoc. 2023 Dec 15;12:e49126. doi: 10.2196/49126.