Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Sexual Harassment at Work Among Tunisian Women Physicians

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Sexuality & Culture Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Sexual harassment at work is receiving increasing attention, particularly as women’s participation rates in the labor force increase. The purpose of this study was to evaluate women doctors’ perception of sexual harassment (SH) and assess SH prevalence in this population, compared with a control group. A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of Tunisian women doctors compared with a control group. We used a questionnaire exploring the knowledge of the participants about SH and personal experience. 154 women received the questionnaire. The response rate was 62.3% (65 women doctors and 31 non-medical women). Only 32.3% of female physicians were able to provide a formal definition of SH versus 22.6% in the non-physician group. We didn’t find a difference between the two groups concerning the perception of nonverbal forms of SH. Doctors said they were more victims of SH at work than non-medical women (27.7% vs. 16.1%). We found a statistically significant relationship between being a witness of SH and being a victim of SH at work in the group of doctors. Most women in Tunisia do not seem to recognize SH. Therefore, studies on a larger scale as well as educational and informative campaigns seem to be necessary.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abed, M. (2009). La législation tunisienne en matière de harcèlement sexuel. Séminaire « Genre et intégration économique des femmes dans le pays du Maghreb. Tunis octobre 2009. Disponible sur http://www.genreenaction.net/img/pdf/genre_et_integration_economique_des_femmes_dans_les_pays_du_maghreb_.pdf/ (consulté le 20 juillet 2018).

  • Chen, W. C., Sun, Y. H., Lan, T. H., & Chiu, H. J. (2009). Incidence and risk factors of workplace violence on nursing staffs caring for chronic psychiatric patients in taiwan. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 6(11), 2812–2821.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Confédération syndicale internationale (CSI). (2008). Combattre le harcèlement sexuel sur le lieu de travail. Juin 2008. Extrait le 20 décembre 2011, disponible sur http://www.ituccsi.org/IMG/pdf/Harcelement_FR_12pgs_BR.pdf. (consulté le 30 Juillet 2018).

  • Douki Dedieu, S. (2013). La santé mentale des femmes: Le poids des discriminations. Swiss Archives of Neurology and Psychiatry, 164(5), 158–164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Faraj, T., & Hiridi, A. (2004). Harcèlement sexuelle de la femme au travail. Journal de la faculté des Lettres de Bani Swif, 7, 19–79.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frank, E., Brogan, D., & Schiffman, M. (1998). Prevalence and correlates of harassment among US women physicians. Archives of Internal Medicine, 158, 352–358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gale, C., Arroll, B., & Coverdale, J. (2006). Aggressive acts by patients against general practitioners in New Zealand: 1-year prevalence. The New Zealand Medical Journal, 119(1237), U2050.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gribaa, B., & Depaoli, G. (2014). Profil Genre de la Tunisie 2014. Mission d’identification d’un programme de promotion de l’égalité homme-femme en Tunisie. Juin 2014. Disponible sur : http://eeas.europa.eu/archives/delegations/tunisia/documents/page_content/profil_genretunisie_2014_courte_fr.pdf (consulté le 30 juillet 2018).

  • Gutek, B. A. (1985). Sex and the workplace: Impact of sexual behavior and harassment on women, men and organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ilies, R., Hauserman, N., Schwochau, S., & Stibal, J. (2003). Reported incidence rates of work-related sexual harassment in the United States: Using meta-analysis to explain reported rate disparities. Personnel Psychology, 56(3), 607–631.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Instruments de protection des droits des femmes ratifiés par la Tunisie. In l’Afrique pour les droits des femmes, Cahier d’exigences pour les droits des femmes. Extrait le 17 mai 2012. Disponible sur: http://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/cahierd_exigences_FR.pdf (consulté le 30 juillet 2018).

  • Kowalenko, T., Walters, B. L., Khare, R. K., Compton, S., & Michigan College of Emergency Physicians Workplace Violence Task Force. (2005). Workplace violence: A survey of emergency physicians in the state of Michigan. Annals of Emergency Medicine, 46(2), 142–147.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Loi organique n° 2017-58 du 11 août 2017, relative à l’élimination de la violence à l’égard des femmes. Disponible sur: https://www.jurisitetunisie.com. Consulté le 25 juillet 2018.

  • Magin, P. J., Adams, J., Sibbritt, D. W., Joy, E., & Ireland, M. C. (2005). Experiences of Occupational violence in Australian urban general practice: A cross-sectional study of GPs. Medical Journal of Australia, 183(7), 352–356.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miedema, B., Easley, J., Fortin, P., Hamilton, R., & Tatemichi, S. (2009). Disrespect, harassment, and abuse: All in a day’s work for family physicians. Canadian Family Physician, 55(3), 279–285.

    Google Scholar 

  • Musayón, Y., & Caufield, C. (2005). Drug consumption and violence in female work Zapallal–Lima/Peru. Rev Lat Am Enfermagem, 13(Spec No), 1185–1193.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nations Unies. (2006). Mettre fin à la violence à l’égard des femmes Des paroles aux actes. Etude du Secrétaire général. Extrait le 17 mai 2012. Disponible sur: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/vaw/launch/french/v.a.w-exeF-use.pdf (consulté le 30 juillet 2018).

  • Neven, V. (2004). Le harcèlement moral ou sexuel au travail. Licence en Sciences Commerciales: École de Gestion de l’Université de Liège; 2004–2005.

  • Pina Theresa, A., Gannon, A., & Saunders, B. (2009). An overview of the literature on sexual harassment: Perpetrator, theory, and treatment issues. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 14, 126–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rapport enquête nationale sur la violence à l’égard des femmes en Tunisie ONFP–AECID. Décembre 2010. Disponible sur : http://www.medcities.org/documents/10192/54940/Enquête+Nationale+Violence+envers+les+femmes-+Tunisie+2010.pdf/ (consulté le 30 juillet 2018).

  • Richman, J. A., Rospenda, K. M., Nawyn, S. J., Flaherty, J. A., Fendrich, M., Drum, M. L., et al. (1999). Sexual harassment and generalized workplace abuse among university employees: Prevalence and mental health correlates. American Journal of Public Health, 89(3), 358–363.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Russo, A., Milić, R., Knezević, B., Mulić, R., & Mustajbegović, J. (2008). Harassment in workplace among school teachers: Development of a survey. Croatian Medical Journal, 49(4), 545–552.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shannon, C. A., Rospenda, K. M., & Richman, J. A. (2007). Workplace harassment patterning, gender, and utilization of professional services: findings from a US national study. Social Science and Medicine, 64(6), 1178–1191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Timmerman, G., & Bajema, C. (1998). Sexual harassment in European workplaces. European Commission. Sexual harassment in the European Union (pp. 1–148).

  • Union Européenne. (2011). Analyse Régionale de la Situation Droits humains des femmes et Egalité hommes-femmes au sud de la Méditerranée 2011. Extrait le 16 mai 2012. Disponible sur : http://www.euromedgenderequality.org/ (consulté le 20 juillet 2018).

  • Williams, C. L., Giuffre, P. A., & Dellinger, K. (1999). Sexuality in the workplace: Organisational control, sexual harassment and the pursuit of pleasure. Annual Review of Sociology, 25, 73–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychiatry B Department, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, Sfax, Tunisia

    Najla Halouani, Fadwa Charfeddine & Jihen Aloulou

  2. Razi Psychiatry Hospital, Manouba, Tunisia

    Rahma Damak, Sahar Ellouze & Chaima Rachdi

Authors
  1. Najla Halouani
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Rahma Damak
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Sahar Ellouze
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Fadwa Charfeddine
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Chaima Rachdi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Jihen Aloulou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Najla Halouani.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

All Authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in our study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the national (Tunisian) research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Halouani, N., Damak, R., Ellouze, S. et al. Sexual Harassment at Work Among Tunisian Women Physicians. Sexuality & Culture 23, 325–336 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-018-9562-y

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-018-9562-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation