Sexual Harassment of Syrian Female Youth in Jordanian Refugee Camps

Abstract

This study aimed at documenting the sexual harassment of Syrian female refugees in refugee camps in Jordan. A purposive sample of 187 Syrian female refugees in the Za’atari camp was selected. The results showed that the environment of the camp played an important role in motivating males to harass females owing to the weakness of the security measures and the lack of sanctions upon deviant behaviors. Our findings show that females were subjected to numerous forms of sexual harassment, including hearing sexual jokes and sexual expressions, and being subjected to suggestive looks, sexual letters, and unwanted touching. Additionally, our results revealed that participants responded to sexual harassment by keeping silent because they feared making their situation worse by provoking conflict within their families. This left the victims without protection or the chance to obtain justice.