Journal Screenshot

International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

Open Access Journal

ISSN: 2222-6990

The Socio-Demographic Factors and Unspeakable Impacts of Street Harassment towards Young Malaysian Women’s Mental Health

Latifah Binti Abd Latib, Nor Zakiah Binti Ismail, Munirah Binti Ilias

http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v11-i19/11744

Open access

Recently, women have been subjected to sexual harassment and assault daily, which has left them in a quandary about whether or not they should tell trusted individuals about it. Unfortunately, most common forms of sexual harassment, such as street harassment, are disregarded and considered a biological fact of life that women must endure. Therefore, a quantitative survey involving 385 women has been conducted to explore the socio-demographic factors towards the impacts of street harassment on young Malaysian women's mental health. The analysis highlighted that the majority of the young women had experienced street harassment such as catcalling, wolf-whistling or sexual comments. In addition, socio-demographic factors such as age group and race group have different impacts on young Malaysian women's mental health caused by street harassment. In conclusion, by analyzing the socio-demographic factors, the government and organizations will benefit from effective action to prevent street harassment among young Malaysians.

Betts, L., Harding, R., Peart, S., Sjolin Knight, C., Wright, D., & Newbold, K. (2019). Adolescents’ experiences of street harassment: Creating a typology and assessing the emotional impact. Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research, 11(1), 38–46.
https://doi.org/10.1108/JACPR-12-2017-0336
Chafai, H. (2017). Contextualising street sexual harassment in Morocco: A discriminatory sociocultural representation of women. Journal of North African Studies, 22(5), 821–840.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13629387.2017.1364633
Dandavati, N. (2020). Women’s Experiences and Perceptions of Sexual Harassment Demonstrate the Urgent Need for a Sexual Harassment Act - Women’s Aid Organisation.
https://wao.org.my/womens-experiences-and-perceptions-of-sexual-harassment-demonstrate-the-urgent-need-for-a-sexual-harassment-act/
Dandavati, N. (2020). JAG welcomes the announcement that the Sexual Harassment Bill will be tabled and urges the government to continue engagement to ensure survivors benefit - Women’s Aid Organisation. https://wao.org.my/jag-welcomes-the-announcement-that-the-sexual-harassment-bill-will-be-tabled-and-urges-the-government-to-continue-engagement-to-ensure-survivors-benefit/
Davidson, M. M., Butchko, M. S., Robbins, K., Sherd, L. W., & Gervais, S. J. (2016). The Mediating Role of Perceived Safety on Street Harassment and Anxiety. Psychology of Violence, 6(4), 553–561. https://doi.org/10.1037/A0039970
DelGreco, M., & Christensen, J. (2020). Effects of Street Harassment on Anxiety, Depression, and Sleep Quality of College Women. Sex Roles, 82(7–8), 473–481. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11199-019-01064-6
Dhillon, M., & Bakaya, S. (2014). Street Harassment a Qualitative Study of the
Experiences of Young Women in Delhi, 1 – 2.
https://scihub. se/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2158244014543786
Farmer, O., & Jordan, S. (2017). Experiences of Women Coping With Catcalling Experiences in New York City: A Pilot Study. Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, 29(4), 205–225. https://doi.org/10.1080/08952833.2017.1373577
Fileborn, B., & Vera-Gray, F. (2017). “I Want to be Able to Walk the Street Without Fear”: Transforming Justice for Street Harassment. Feminist Legal Studies, 25(2), 203–227.
https://doi.org/10.1007/S10691-017-9350-3
Gavin, M., & Mp, S. (2018). Sexual harassment of women and girls in public places Sixth Report of Session 2017-19 Report, together with formal minutes relating to the report. www.parliament.uk.
Penfield, C. (2017). Sexual Harassment at School. In Executive Educator, 15(2). https://search.proquest.com/docview/62874735?accountid=13042% 0Ahttp://oxfordsfx.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/oxford?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&genre=article&sid=ProQ:ProQ%3Aeric&atitle=Sexual+Harassment+at+School&title=Execut
Renwick, R., Yoshida, K., Eacrett, E., & Rose, N. (2016). Meaning of Staring and the Stare Relationship Related to Men Living with Acquired Spinal Cord Injuries, 1-4.
https://scihub.se/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/ 294424264_Meaning_of_Staring_and_the_StarerStaree_Relationship_Related_ to_Men_Living_With_Acquired_Spinal_Cord_Injuries
Safe Routes to School National Partnership. (2017). How Safe Routes to School
Programs Can Take Action to Protect Kids from Street Harassment: Wolf Whistles and Creepy Compliments. https://core.ac.uk/display/86445439.
Stop Street Harassment. (2015). What is street harassment?
http://www.stopstreetharassment.org/about/what-is-street-harassment/
Sexual Harassment Statistics in Malaysia - Women’s Aid Organisation. (n.d.).
https://wao.org.my/sexual-harassment-statistics/
Vera-Gray, F. (2016). Men’s stranger intrusions: Rethinking street harassment. Women’s Studies International Forum, 58, 9–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.WSIF.2016.04.001
Westrupa, D., & William, J. F. (1998) Stalking behavior: A literature review and suggested functional analytic assessment technology.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/ science/article/abs/pii/S1359178997000232
Chung, Y. R. (2020). Survey supports calls to Make Stalking A Crime in Malaysia.
https://wao.org.my/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Survey-supports-calls-to-Make Stalking-A-Crime-in-Malaysia-WAO-Presentation.pdf

In-Text Citation: (Latib et al., 2021)
To Cite this Article: Latib, L. B. A., Ismail, N. Z. B., & Ilias, M. B. (2021). The Socio-Demographic Factors and Unspeakable Impacts of Street Harassment towards Young Malaysian Women’s Mental Health. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 11(19), 404–416.