Abstract
Sexual harassment is not only a pervasive concern in many institutions of higher learning but more recently has come under the spotlight in critical discussions of academic and gender citizenship within institutional contexts in South Africa. Recently, as part of the institutional response to recent incidences of sexual harassment, a new and independent Sexual Harassment Unit at the University of the Witwatersrand was formed. However, institutional responses and strengthening of sexual harassment policies can only go so far in addressing the problem of gender violence within higher education contexts. A more concerted effort is needed that engages and destabilises the ‘common-sense’ and normalised cultures of gender and identity that are inherent in everyday interactions between gendered beings. This normalised culture is functional in informing how staff and students within tertiary institutions both interpret and respond to incidences of sexual harassment. We present critical analyses of focus group interviews conducted with different groups of male and female students and support staff at the University. The analysis highlights the role and influence of taken-for-granted assumptions of gender, identity and power that are functional in promoting a ‘culture of violence’ within this context. In interrogating problematic assumptions and their normalisation we point to the need for interventions which expose their role and influence so that more effective institutional interventions can be realised. We argue that there is a need for interventions, to take cognisance of and actively engage the deeply entrenched beliefs concerning relations of gender. These beliefs influence how practices and relations of sexual harassment are both perceived as well as how they are challenged.
Visit the following link for the full article: www.researchgate.net/view