Sociological Study of Sexual Harassment of Disabled Women in Mazandaran Province

Sexual abuse of people with disabilities is a common problem in contemporary society. However, many cases of harassment do not appear to be reported and thus remain unknown. The study of sexual harassment of disabled women is one of the topics that has not received much empirical attention. Sexual harassment is an example of violence against women. Although disabled women experience the same forms of abuse as non-disabled women do, some types of abuse are specific to women with disabilities and make them more vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse. The risk factors include inability to leave the harassing situation due to mobility disorders or dependence on a caregiver. Therefore, vulnerability increases with physical, mental, and emotional limitations. The present study investigated the extent of sexual harassment among disabled women in relation to social factors in Mazandaran Province. Considering individual and social consequences, as well as the religious nature of Iranian society, in which such secular and immoral behaviors are disliked, it was necessary to address the social factors affecting sexual harassment of the disabled.   

 This research was based on a survey method. A questionnaire was used to collect the data and the theoretical construct validity was applied to determine the validity of the indicators. The research population included women and girls with disabilities in Mazandaran Province. Based on its geographical location and cultural differences, Mazandaran Province is divided into 4 areas: Sari, Babol, Behshahr, and Noor. To determine the sample size, a simple random cluster sampling method was employed. A total of 9417 women with disabilities were selected from the mentioned cities as the statistical population. 400 questionnaires were distributed among the individuals and finally 343 questionnaires were described and analyzed. The dependent variable was sexual harassment, which was categorized into the two general dimensions of verbal harassment and non-verbal harassment. The independent variables included availability of suitable targets, absence of the capable guardian in routine activities theory, and exposure measure and risky behaviors of lifestyle theory. The questionnaire reliability was obtained by using Cronbach Alpha. The highest Cronbach Alpha was 0.85 for the variable of exposure measure. The variables of suitable target and risky behavior had good reliability as well. In the present study, SPSS 21 software was utilized for performing the statistical analysis of data.

The results indicated that the first hypothesis of the study, i.e., sexual harassment of the disabled as a function of suitable target, was confirmed. Analysis of the variables showed that the increase in victimization could be attributed to the visible symptoms of disability, such as having a stick, wheelchair, etc. The evidence supported the idea that the motivated criminals were more likely to select those they found vulnerable. The analyses also revealed that the individual and environmental factors might play a role in decreasing or increasing the potential risk. In particular, lack of academic achievement, satisfaction with the number of friends in the peer network, and difficulties in daily life activities affected the risk of victimization.The second hypothesis of the study, i.e., sexual harassment of the disabled as a function of lifestyle, was confirmed with a beta value of 0.489. According to the lifestyle approach, some people lead lifestyles, with which victimization increases. Thus, some lifestyles create opportunities for crime and enhance the likelihood of victimization. Lifestyle theory in criminology is based on the premise that the probability of being victimized by a crime varies according to the extent the victims are placed in high-risk situations where potential offenders are present.