Citation

Berik G, Bhattacharya H, Singh TP, Sinha A, Strenio J, Naomi SS, Zafar S, Talboys S. Glob. Public Health 2024; 19(1): e2380845.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/17441692.2024.2380845

PMID

39074440

Abstract

The ubiquity of public-space sexual harassment (PSH) of women in the global South, particularly in South Asia, is both a public health and gender equity issue. This study examined men's experiences with and perspectives on PSH of women in three countries with shared cultural norms and considerable gender inequalities - Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. The three-country survey in 2021-2022 was completed by 237 men who were generally young, urban, single, well-educated, and middle-/high-income. Among the 53.3% who witnessed PSH, 80% reported intervening to stop it or help the victim. A substantial share of men worried about PSH, and bore emotional, time, and financial costs as they took precautionary or restorative measures to help women in their families avoid PSH or deal with its consequences. Most respondents articulated potential gains for men, women, and society if PSH no longer existed. However, a non-negligible share of participants held patriarchal gender attitudes that are often used to justify harassment, and a small share did not favour legal and community sanctions. Many called for stricter legal sanctions and enforcement, culture change, and education. Men's perspectives offer insights for prevention of harassment and mitigation of its consequences.

Language: en

Keywords

Humans; Adult; Female; Male; Middle Aged; Adolescent; Young Adult; Pakistan; India; Bangladesh; Surveys and Questionnaires; South Asia; Asia, Southern; gender norms; Violence against women; *Sexual Harassment; men’s perspective; public-space sexual harassment; SDG 10: Reduced inequalities; SDG 3: Good health and well-being; SDG 5: Gender equality