Sexual Violence in Ethiopian Higher Education Institutions: An Individual and Contextual Perspective

Abstract

This study explored the situation of Sexual Violence (SV), the context in which it occurs and the individual factors that expose female students to SV in Ethiopian higher education institutions by using an ecological approach as a framework and gathering data through interviews and Focus Group Discussions. Instances of SV in the form of verbal harassment, touching, coercion, and asking girls out on a date repeatedly despite the girls’ lack of interest are common. Although the government has made commitments and taken some measures, SV remains a problem in higher education. Addressing sexual violence requires adopting an ecological approach to tackle the factors operating at individual, social, cultural, and historical levels.