UNHEARD: DELVING DEEP

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AND PERSPECTIVES OF
YOUNG MEN WHO
ENCOUNTERED SEXUAL
HARASSMENT
I. CATUBIG, MILES, SUMABONG, TAMANG
RATIONALE
Not known to everyone but men can also be victims of sexual harassment
and should also be the focus of public awareness. Sexual harassment is any
form of sexual behavior that is provoking, intimidating and humiliating.
A study by DuBois, Knapp, Faley, and Kustis (1998) have found that men
who are targets of male-induced sexual harassment are unlikely to report
the sexual harassment because of stigmas that associate their role as target
with gayness specifically, some men fear that in reporting incidences of
sexual harassment— especially but not exclusively those where men are the
aggressors—they will be perceived as gay (Calderwood, 1987; Goyer &
Eddleman, 1984).

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OF YOUNG MEN WHO ENCOUNTERED SEXUAL HARASSMENT
 This study aims to have deeper
statement of understanding of the perception and
experiences of men on sexual harassment.

the problem
It aims to answer the following questions:

1. What is the level of awareness of the respondents on the

occurrence of sexual harassment among young males?
2. How do the respondents describe their experience?
2.1 How did the respondents feel or react during the
situation?
2.2 What did the respondents feel after the situation?
 
3. What are their perceptions of the stigma associated with male
sexual harassment?
 
4. What changes in perception of the public does the respondent
want to happen?
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 research
methodology
With the focus on the phenomenon experienced by young men
who have faced sexual harassment, the researchers selected the
qualitative approach, specifically, the Husserlian descriptive
phenomenological design. The researchers aim to involve the
selected male students of Cebu City National Science High School
(CCNSHS) as respondents of the study through purposive sampling.
The researchers have a projected number of 30 students, 5 from
each batch, but have only interviewed 5 students upon reaching
saturation of data.

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OF YOUNG MEN WHO ENCOUNTERED SEXUAL HARASSMENT
 research
methodology
Before conducting the study, letters will be prepared by the
researchers to be sent to the respondents. In the actual data
gathering, the researchers will then ask their prepared interview
guide questions to the chosen respondents. The data gathered from
the interviews will be used in the further data analysis and study.
After the data gathering, the researchers will be using and organizing
the data gathered from the unstructured interviews into tables
containing coding analysis and thematic analysis. Finally, if able, a
conclusion will then be derived from all the data gathered and data
analysis.
UNHEARD: DELVING DEEP INTO THE EXPERIENCES AND PERSPECTIVES
OF YOUNG MEN WHO ENCOUNTERED SEXUAL HARASSMENT
FINDINGS
1. All of the respondents have a high level
of awareness of the prevalence of young
men being sexually harassed as they and
the people close to them have
experienced this phenomenon
themselves.

2. The respondents have described their

experiences as something negative and
truly affected their psychosocial well-
being that they themselves felt inferior
towards women or their perpetrators.

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OF YOUNG MEN WHO ENCOUNTERED SEXUAL HARASSMENT
FINDINGS
2.1 The respondents felt
provoked during the
incident in a way of
feeling scared, awkward
and weird when it
happened. There were
also some respondents
who was shocked and
confused when it
happened causing them
to react or do nothing
when it all happened.
2.2 The respondents, who felt provoked
when it all happened, felt disgusted and
embarrassed by themselves that they let
the perpetrators do what they want and
get away with it. Leaving the respondents
feeling inferior towards women or the
perpetrator.The respondents, who were
shocked, confused and unable to do
anything when it all happened, did nothing
and felt no care after it happened though.

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 FINDINGS
3. The respondents all felt that
there really is an ongoing
stigma about men. Most of the
stigmas labeled men as the
perpetrators only and not able
to be victims themselves as
stated by the respondents that
this maybe because most rape
cases slayed in the Philippines
centered around women.
Another stigma perceived by
the respondents was that they
often hear―“Okay rana oi, laki
bitaw ka!” [“It‘s okay. You‘re a
man after all”].
UNHEARD: DELVING DEEP INTO THE EXPERIENCES AND PERSPECTIVES
OF YOUNG MEN WHO ENCOUNTERED SEXUAL HARASSMENT
4. The respondents wants to
change the perception of the
public in a way that the public
should not keep labeling them
with stereotypes and accept
that they themselves could
also fall as victims of sexual
harassment. They also want
the public to change their
perception in treating the
issue of sexual harassment in
men as an important issue that
each and every one that‘s part
of the society should address.
 USION
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION Sexual harassment towards men is not a common
ONCLUSION
thing to hear but it does exist and society is very aware that
men can experience sexual harassment too. Based on the
gathered data by interviewing respondents who have
experienced sexual harassment, male victims view sexual
harassment on men as a rare case that is not disclosed
freely. In the gathered data, the respondents narrated their
experience and how they reacted and feel towards the
CONCL

situation on which the researchers found out that the

respondents felt provoked. There are various feelings
associated towards the action; however, one thing in
common is that male victims particularly young males did
not know what to do or did nothing to provoke the
perpetrators. Researchers learned that the usual
perpetrators that the victims encountered were mostly
homosexuals (gays) and women.
UNHEARD: DELVING DEEP INTO THE EXPERIENCES AND PERSPECTIVES
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 USION
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION Researchers discovered that men do not talk about
ONCLUSION
their experiences because of the stigma of masculinity and
not being ―strong enough to fight the perpetrator. Male
victims agreed that the stigma exist and that men are
usually perceived as the perpetrators and not the victim
that is why they are unlikely to report their experiences.
Some respondents voiced out that they felt inferior toward
opposite gender. Respondents stated how they wanted to
CONCL

change the perception of the people about men and

masculinity. One way that the society can help the male
victims of sexual harassment is to treat the issue as an issue
and not ―a fork on the road‖ which implies ignoring the
existing issue even though society is well aware that it
exists. Anyone can be a victim and anyone can be a
perpetrator regardless of their gender.

UNHEARD: DELVING DEEP INTO THE EXPERIENCES AND PERSPECTIVES

OF YOUNG MEN WHO ENCOUNTERED SEXUAL HARASSMENT
recommendations
Based on the findings from the study, the researchers have come
up with a number of recommendations stated as follows:

1.    The researchers recommend to start

with enough time for some respondents
decline to be interviewed for the topic is
too sensitive for them to disclose for
further researches.
 
2.    The researchers recommend
increasing the scope of the research
environment to have different types of
respondents and to have more diverse
answers to the questions given.
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