THE PSYCHOLOGICAL APPRAISAL OF CAMPUS CLIMATE AND ITS IMPLICATION ON ‘SEX FOR MARKS’ SYNDROME

Abstract

Sexual harassment is a global problem affecting societies, organisations, schools, colleges and
universities alike. However, ‘sex for marks’ otherwise known as ‘quid pro quo’, ‘sexually transmitted grades’, or ‘transactional sex’ is a common form of sexual harassment in the higher educational institutions. This study examines the campus climate with a focus on the prevalence and perception of sexual harassment as well as management disposition to sexual misconduct and campus safety. Thus, a cross-sectional survey research design was adopted, and a battery of psychological test consisting of Campus Climate Scale (CSC) was used to collect data from 654 female participants who were accidentally selected from among undergraduate students of University of Lagos. The data collected were analyzed using simple percentages, One-way Analysis of Variance and Correlation Analysis of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).The findings revealed a significantly high prevalence of sexual harassment on campus;the inverse relationship between students’ experience of sexual harassment and campus climate, among others. Thus, these findings substantiate the importance of creating strategies, policies and programmes that will minimize sexual harassment as well as enhance a conducive campus climate to sustain the integrity and standards of the educational system. This study, therefore, recommends a zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment on campus.