Crisabel M. Tiongson

Sounding the Horn: How Young Women Speak Out Against Sexual Harassment in Public Transportation Alamano, Jessamie T. Delgado, Rose Jade Eugenie S. Tiongson, Crisabel M. 1 Chapter I INTRODUCTION This chapter presents the introduction about the topic, background of the study, statement of the problem, objective of the study, assumption, scope and delimitations, and definition of terms. Background and Rationale of the Study Ask a man his number one priority when it comes to public transport. Most likely he will say ‘speed’. Ask a woman the same question and chances are that she will answer ‘safety’. Run-of-the-mill conversations on public transit usually revolve around cleanliness, dubious efficiency and service, crowded conditions, and constantly rising fares. But female passengers face specific harassment and safety issues, making public transit very much a women’s issue. Sexual harassment in public transport is an everyday occurrence for millions of girls and women living in some of the world’s biggest capitals. From verbal abuse to being followed, from unwanted sexual comments to physical assault, the stories are strikingly similar, regardless of the geography. And while some governments around the world are beginning to take a tougher stand against issues like domestic violence, sexual harassment in public spaces especially in public transportation remains a largely neglected issue. 2 ‘Harassment’ is a term that is not rather unacquainted to the common mind. All across the world, people face harassment – sometimes so severe that you start to wonder whether we as a race in fact “evolved” in the first place. It might raise some frowns when it is said that the receptors of harassment are largely women. Although wrongfully so, it is in fact rightly said, since harassment includes not just the despicable actions caught by the eye, but also the subtle discomforts which often get overlooked or forgotten but should not be. According to the analysis carried out by Safecity (2016) to identify the reports pertaining to sexual harassment, an alarming one-fifth of all the data collected are incidents that happen in a public transportation space of some kind. Widespread sexual harassment has led transit agencies in many places around the world to implement sex-segregated buses and trains. Countries with women-only bus services include Bangladesh, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Pakistan, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates. Women-only subway cars or train sections are found in Brazil, Egypt, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, and Russia, according to author and Stop Street Harassment founder Holly Kearl (2010) A poll released by the Thomson Reuters Foundation in partnership with YouGov reveals that 32% of women in London say they have been verbally harassed on public transport; 19% were victims of direct physical abuse. The global ranking puts the safety of London’s transport system behind that of New York, Beijing and Tokyo, but ahead of Paris, where 85% of the women polled expressed little confidence in receiving help by a member of the public if they were in trouble. The worst capitals are those in Latin 3 America, where six in every 10 women reported being physically assaulted on buses and trains. These numbers are worrying, especially because women are the main users of public transport in most metropolitan areas around the world. The figures are also particularly alarming because fear has dramatic consequences for women’s behavior: if they feel that going somewhere would put them at risk, in many cases, women won’t go. In some countries, this translates into girls missing school, women giving up job offers, or even being unable to access essential healthcare services. In India, where 5.5 million women enter the workforce each year, more than 50% express high concerns about the safety of their commute. In a survey of 6,555 women and experts in 15 of the world’s largest capitals, Metro Manila ranked 10th as having the worst public transport system for women. The survey, done by Thomson Reuters Foundation with UK company YouGov, asked six questions regarding the use of public transport: how safe women felt when travelling alone at night; risk of being verbally harassed by men; risk of being physically or sexually harassed; trust that they would be given assistance if they were harassed; level of confidence in authorities that reported cases of sexual harassment or violence will be acted upon and availability of safe public transport. Obeth Montes (2017) of women’s group Gabriela said that women are at risk of verbal and sexual harassment while in public transportation vehicles. These include green jokes, being whistled and stared at and groping. 4 To cope with this reality, women often restrict their movements at certain times to certain places, choose a pricier (but safer) alternative, or decide to take public transit despite the risks. Each option costs us on a sliding scale—from a few extra dollars, to a loss of freedom of movement, to the possibility of real physical danger. The involvement of all public transport stakeholders—commuters, drivers, enforcers, traffic administrators—is necessary toward a safer mobility for women as well as a more gender-inclusive land transport and traffic system. Time lost to traffic, lives and human dignity compromised by unsafe roads can be regained with solidarity and cooperation among key actors in the public transport sector. Statement of the Problem The study aimed to know how and what platforms are used by women to speak out against sexual harassment in public transportation. Specifically, this study sought to answer the following sub-questions: 1. What are the causes of sexual harassment of young women in public transportation? 2. What are the usual responses of young women if they are sexually harassed in public transportation? 3. What are the platforms used by women to speak out against sexual harassment in public transportation? 5 Objectives of the Study The main purpose of this research was to know the instruments and avenues women use as they empower themselves to speak out against cases of sexual harassment in public transportation. As follows are the specific: 1. To know the causes of sexual harassment of young women in public transportation. 2. To know the responses of young women if they are sexually harassed in public transportation. 3. To know the platforms used by women to speak out against sexual harassment in public transportation. Significance of the Study This study provided information on how young women speak up against sexual harassment in public transportation. It aided in giving an understanding on how young women perceive sexual harassment and what they think are the reasons why women are sexually harassed especially in public transportation. Also, the study aimed to know how victims of sexual harassment in public transportation reacted when faced with such a situation and how other young women think they would react when they are to be sexually harassed. It also gave information on the platforms used by young women to empower themselves and speak out against sexual harassment in public transportation. 6 Scope and Delimitation The respondents for our study were 100 young women aged 13 to 19 who use any form of public transport (i.e. LRT, MRT, Jeepney, Bus, UV Express) on a regular basis. These young women have been equally divided among the four educational institutions in Intramuros, Manila namely; Lyceum of the Philippines University, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, Mapua Institute of Technology and Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila. The researchers surveyed 25 respondents per institution. Likewise, the researchers also interviewed 5 young women, still within the 13 to 19 year old age bracket, who have experienced first hand sexual harassment in any form of public transportation. 7 Chapter II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE This chapter presents the related literature and studies after the thorough and indepth search done by the researchers. Sexual Harassment Sexual Harassment is an unlawful act of a man towards a young woman which can be either verbally or physically. It is also classified as a form of gender discrimination toward women. According to Kintanar (1995), Sexual Harassment is a series of incidents involving unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors or other verbal or physical conduct of sexual nature, made directly, indirectly or impliedly when such conduct might reasonably be expected to cause insecurity, discomfort, offense or humiliation to another person or group. The Law on Prevention Against Discrimination (2003) mentioned that sexual harassment is a form of any unwanted conduct of a sexual nature expressed physically, verbally or in any other manner, which violates the dignity or honour of a person or creates a hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment, attitude or practice and, in particular when the refusal to accept such conduct or the pressure to accept it could influence the taking of decisions affecting the person. However, based on researchers such as Gekoski, Gray, Adler and Horvath (2017) there is an unwanted sexual behaviors in public transportation. Rush hour, for example, may give offenders opportunities to touch or rub against victims who are essentially captive in crowded train carriages. 8 1) According to the Ontario Human Rights Commission, Section 10 of the Code defines harassment as “engaging in a course of vexatious[8] comment or conduct that is known or ought to be known to be unwelcome.” Using this definition, more than one event must take place for there to be a violation of the Code.[9] However, depending on the circumstances, one incident could be significant or substantial enough to be sexual harassment. (May 2013) 2) Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness center of the University of Michigan defined sexual harassment as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct. of a sexual nature when either: The conduct is made as a term or condition of an individual's employment, education, living environment or participation in a University community. 3) From Law on Prevention Against Discrimination of September 2003 (unofficial translation by the Bulgarian Gender Research Foundation). Sexual harassment shall be any unwanted conduct of a sexual nature expressed physically, verbally or in any other manner, which violates the dignity or honour of a person or creates a hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment, attitude or practice and, in particular when the refusal to accept such conduct or the pressure to accept it could influence the taking of decisions affecting the person. (September,2003) 4) sexual attention becomes sexual harassment if: 1) The behavior is persisted in, although a single incident of harassment can constitute sexual harassment; and/ or 2) The recipient has made it clear that the behaviour is considered offensive; and/or 3) The perpetrator should have known that the behaviour is regarded as 9 unacceptable. From the South African National Economic Development and Labor Council Code of Good Practices on the Handling of Sexual Harassment Cases, Section 3. 5) According to the Philippine Statistic Authority, It is an act or a series of acts involving any unwelcome sexual advance, request or demand for a sexual favor, or other verbal or physical behavior of a sexual nature, committed by a government employee or official in a work-related, training- or education- related environment. (Mar 3, 2008) 6) Conservatives In an article about women across the world feel unsafe when taking public transportation by Ms. Monique Villa that was posted in Independent.uk a newspaper in United Kingdom tells us about Sexual harassment on public transport is an everyday occurrence for millions of girls and women living in some of the world’s biggest capitals. From verbal abuse to being followed, from unwanted sexual comments to physical assault the stories are strikingly similar, regardless of the geography. And while some governments around the world are beginning to take a tougher stand against issues like domestic violence, sexual harassment in public spaces remains a largely neglected issue. Cases Sexual harassment on public transport is a growing problem that we must solve in the status quo. Cases about young women who were sexually harassed are 10 increasing every day. The following are scholarly articles that strongly support the issue concerning the incident. A 25 year old teacher from Kathmandu shared her story on an article of Stop Street Harassment Org. Stating that while on her way home there was another passenger who makes uncomfortable gesture towards here, she merely wanted to slap the guy but at that time due to the uncomfortable feeling she just wanted to get out of the bus and when her destination came, she run off while crying because of the offensive act from the stanger, One day after work, Kira Hamburg took a bus to get her way home. Although she was wearing a buttoned up skirt and showing no cleavage whatsoever, she felt a man on his 40s sitting diagonally and intensive looking towards her. At the next stop while more people came in, he quickly took over the sit opposite to her and he started grinning at Kira, she felt very uncomfortable. After getting out of the bus he continuously followed her and asked questions, but the man only stop when Kira shouted at him and told him “No I do not want to talk or meet with you. Leave me alone now!”. (Hamburg 2016) There was this one time Adrija was taking bus with her friend. The middle-aged man came and stoop right next to where she was sitting. She was busy on her phone so it was while before she even realized that he was pressing up against her. It was the first time Adrija encountered something like that, since she doesn’t use much public transit then. She kept leaning further away from him but the guy wouldn’t let up. She said that the worst part of being harassed on public transportation is that there is no way to 11 escape. At least in public, open spaces, you have the option of shoving them back, which we often do. The norms of public transport are such that it makes ys captive victims unable to speak out. (Adrija, 2016) Sexual harassment on public transport is a problem we must solve in the status quo. There are many cases about women who were sexually harassed. The following are scholarly articles that strongly support the issue concerning to the sexual harassment of women on public transportation in Philippines and around the Globe. 1) A 25 year old teacher from Kathmandu shared her story on an article of Stop Street Harassment Org. Stating that while on her way home there was another passenger who makes uncomfortable gesture towards here, she merely wanted to slap the guy but at that time due to the uncomfortable feeling she just wanted to get out of the bus and when her destination came, she run off while crying because of the offensive act from the stanger, http://www.stopstreetharassment.org/2014/02/nepal-publictransport/ In an article of the Guardian (2016) it cited cases of women who were sexually harassed inside public transport. Their experiences as follows: 2) One day after work, Kira Hamburg took a bus to get her way home. Although she was wearing a buttoned up skirt and showing no cleavage whatsoever, she felt a man on his 40s sitting diagonally and intensive looking towards her. At the next stop while more people came in, he quickly took over the sit opposite to her and 12 he started grinning at Kira, she felt very uncomfortable. After getting out of the bus he continuously followed her and asked questions, but the man only stop when Kira shouted at him and told him “No I do not want to talk or meet with you. Leave me alone now!”. (Hamburg 2016) https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/apr/21/ 3) There was this one time Adrija was taking bus with her friend. The middle-aged man came and stoop right next to where she was sitting. She was busy on her phone so it was while before she even realized that he was pressing up against her. It was the first time Adrija encountered something like that , since she doesn’t use much public transit then. She kept leaning further away from him but the guy wouldn’t let up. She said that the worst part of being harassed on public transportation is that there is no way to escape. At least in public, open spaces, you have the option of shoving them back, which we often do. The norms of public transport are such that it makes ys captive victims unable to speak out. (Adrija, 2016) https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/apr/21/ 4) 8 months ago of Georgia was travelling to London when a man chose to target her. He made kissing noises towards her and when she ignored him he approached her and tried to kiss her, when she refused he then began grabbing at her breasts and crotch. This was a young girl and an old man on a packed train. She was clearly in distress and no one offered any support or help. Once 13 he realised she wasn’t interested he sat down opposite her and continued to make noises and vulgar gestures toward her. So she’s sat in tears on the full train crying down the phone to her mum and still no one intervened. (September, 2016) http://thetab.com/uk/2016/08/10/sexual-harassment-public-transport-13695 Platforms Sexual harassment can bring trauma, humiliation or simply can affect the entire life of the young women. However, there are victims who find ways in order to speak up and bring awareness to the others who could possibly go through in the same scenario. They uses medium like the social media to voice out the sexual abuse they had encounter and the legal implications of using social media to allege sexual harassment (Kumar, 2017). To maximize the use of internet, a website was created as a platform to speak out and tell personal experiences of sexual harassment and abuse in public spaces. The SafeCity is a non-profit initiative website to aid young women in India to fight sexual harassment. It is based on international models set in countries like the Netherlands and Egypt. The idea is to challenge perpetrators who are comfortable in a certain location and believe that their sexual offence would go unpunished (Majahan, 2015). Aside on using internet, a campaign can be also a platform. Just like what the writer Midgley (2015), wrote on his article at the Telegraph, that the Transport for 14 London has launched a sexual harrassment campaign called "Report it to stop it" which aims to increase reporting of unwanted sexual behaviour on public transport. The fact that 10% of passengers may experience unwanted sexual behaviour on public transport in London but only one in ten will report it. 1) In the article of Sunday Observer posted last April 2, 2017. They cited stories of women who were sexually harassed on public transit and exposing a group named Street Harassment Hurts (SHH) as a medium of voicing out the women’s experiences on sexual harassment in public transit. The group purpose was to highlight issues of harassment in Sri Lanka, and create conversation and dialogue around it. “Many people do not know that you can be jailed for harassing someone. We continue to empower people through giving them a platform they could seek help from.” http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2017/03/19/features/sexual-harassment-publictransport-women-fight-against-fear-and-shame 2) Sociologist and senior lecturer, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Sri Jayawardenepura, Dr. Praneeth Abeysundara speaking to the Sunday Observer said, sexual harassment in public transport has become a common nuisance for all those who yearn for ‘civilised’ behaviour in a public place. He said, “A victim should be able to inform the immediate members in the mode of transport, then the police or the hotline of the Children and Women’s Bureau for immediate (re)action. Then, she should know the legal framework that aids her to prove her innocence and win her due rights. The 15 females should be informed to fight against fear and shame and the negative labelling they receive in these circumstances.” (02 April 2017) http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2017/03/19/features/sexual-harassment-publictransport-women-fight-against-fear-and-shame Causes Identifying the reasons why a young woman was being sexually harassed is difficult to determine. Different factors may cause such as the way she dress, talk or act can contribute why the perpetrator can carry the deed. According to a government website, causes of sexual harassment can be as follows: • In a culture where it is, or was until recently, "OK" to discriminate against people because they are different (in terms of gender, race, culture, religion, lifestyle, political conviction or whatever), the abuse of power or humiliation that is typical of sexual harassment will not be unusual. Harassment is often closely linked to prejudice in general, and to sexist attitudes. • Men who were brought up with macho beliefs like "real men pinch bottoms", "girls were made to hug and kiss", "the more, the merrier", easily carry these social values into the workplace, and treat their female colleagues accordingly. Such men often even think that women take their harassment as a compliment. • Many women have been brought up to believe women's highest calling is to please men, that popularity with men equals success, or that "real women look sexy". This can give the impression - usually unintended - that they invite sexual advances at work. Some women who see sexuality as their only power base, play along. 16 Although research has proven them to be a small minority, their behaviour can also encourage harassment of other women. (www.westerncape.gov On a study conducted by thee UP College of Social Work and Community Development (CSWCD)several factors why young women are likely to be a victim of sexual harassment are due to : (a) Overcrowding leads to frequent physical contacts; (b) Overcrowding raises doubts if the physical contact is purposively done or not— raised by male participants when/if the practice of overcrowding is treated as something normal and acceptable; (c) Sexual harassment in an overcrowded vehicle is an interaction among different perceptions based on gender and class—judgment and function; (d) Overcrowding as a result of lack of public transport services; (e) Anonymity and the transitory condition or situation where sexual harassment makes it hard for women to report or complain. 1) According to the PAK: Rapid Assessment of Sexual Harassment In PublicTransport and Connected Spaces in Karachi, Page 25. Due to buses and mini-buses are generally over crowded, particularly during peak hours (morning andevening). Women travelling during peak hours seldom get a place to sit. As a result they are subject to harassment by men who use women’s section door to enter into and exit from bus. (December 2014) 17 h t t p s : / / w w w. a d b . o r g / s i t e s / d e f a u l t / f i l e s / p r o j e c t - d o c u m e n t / 152881/--tacr-19.pdf 2) According to Theresa M. Beiner on her research SEXY DRESSING REVISITED: DOES TARGET DRESS PLAY A PART IN SEXUAL HARASSMENT CASES? the root cause of sexual harassment: power. Sexual harassment is about power; therefore, a target who is dressed provocatively is not the ideal target for the would-be harasser, who appears motivated at least in part by his ability to dominate his victim. (2007) h t t p : / / s c h o l a r s h i p . l a w. d u k e . e d u / c g i / v i e w c o n t e n t . c g i ? article=1109&context=djglp 3) In the article of Psychology Today by Noam Shpancer Ph.D. an Insight Therapy “Why Do Men Sexually Assault Women”. He stated that men sexually assault women, first, because they can. By genetic lot, men are on average stronger than women and can overpower them physically. Anatomy is destiny, Freud said. And so it’s the destiny of women that if men wish to impose their will, physical force is one available tool. The same is not true in reverse. This biological difference is not fair—but there is no fairness in nature; there is only nature in nature. And the difference is not likely to disappear any time soon. (Nov. 03, 2014) 18 https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/insight-therapy/201411/why-domen-sexually-assault-women Theoretical Framework Feminist Theory is a major branch of theory within sociology that is distinctive for how its creators shift their analytic lens, assumptions, and topical focus away from the male viewpoint and experience. In doing so, feminist theory shines light on social problems, trends, and issues that are otherwise overlooked or misidentified by the historically dominant male perspective within social theory. It is not the belief that one gender should be raised in power above another (ThoughtCo, 2016). The most common and perhaps most general understanding of the feminist theory is that it is about equal rights for women. However, the feminist theory is not just about equal rights for women. It is a critical project. It looks at all aspects of life to identify those elements that might be oppressive and suggests alternatives. Critical means that there is an inquiry into the message and values of something. Feminist theorists view the world through a different lens and what they see usually requires a response. The feminist theory, in other words, follows the critical project with action to bring about social change (Scholz, 2010). 19 While sexual harassment has been a pervasive problem for women throughout history, only in the past three decades have feminist litigators won definition of sexual harassment as a form of sex discrimination and have women come forward in droves to demand remedies and institutional change. Women around the world are beginning to tell their stories and expose the pervasiveness of sexual harassment in their societies. A 2010 International Labor Organization survey of 23 countries revealed what women already know: that sexual harassment is a major problem for women all over the world. Sexual harassment affects women's mental and physical health as well as their social and economic status. The level of tolerance for sexual harassment varies from culture to culture. (Webb, 2011) Analytical Framework ! Sexual Harassment in Public Transportatio n Causes of Sexual Harassment in Public Transportatio Responses Platforms Used to Speak Out Figure 1. The Conceptual Framework of Sounding the Horn: How Young Women Speak Out Against Sexual Harassment in Public Transportation Sexual harassment is, above all, a manifestation of power relations. Women are much more likely to be victims of sexual harassment precisely because they more often than men lack power, are in more vulnerable and insecure positions, lack self confidence, or have been socialized to suffer in silence (Petrocelli & Rapa, 2010) 20 Sexual harassment is an extension of the current legal, social, economic and political systems in which we live which manifest and reinforce male dominance over women. Unequal power relationships between men and women are embedded in social organizations like the family where they become internalized by individuals. Masculine dominance over females is further linked to the patriarchal nature of heterosexual relationships. We are in a culture were men are socialised to view women as a means of satisfying their emotional, sexual and daily needs. The messages that females receive through such power structures and female socialisation serve to emphasize women's powerlessness, passivity and their role as victim. When internalized, these messages generate submissive, compliant and self-effacing behaviours which offer little or no protection against sexual harassment (Petrocelli & Rapa, 2010). According to the National Women’s Law Center, sexual harassment often has a serious and negative impact on women’s physical and emotional health, and the more severe the harassment, the more severe the reaction. The reactions frequently reported by women include anxiety, depression, sleep disturbance, weight loss or gain, loss of appetite, and headaches. Researchers have also found that there is a link between sexual harassment and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Responding to harassment reduces its emotional impact – but how you respond is a person’s choice. You can decide to respond directly to harassers, or choose to respond by taking action against the culture that makes harassment acceptable. The usual platform that are used nowadays are social media sites. A new study suggests that when women are sexually harassed, we react more passively than we predict: 21 Pointing to the 1991 Senate confirmation hearings for Clarence Thomas' appointment to the Supreme Court, the researchers note that Anita Hill testified she had been sexually harassed by Thomas during his tenure as head of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She testified that despite being harassed numerous times years before, at no point did she confront Thomas about his behavior or take any action against the harassment. Her claim of repeated sexual harassment and perpetual inaction led to public suspicion with and condemnation of Anita Hill. Far from being an isolated incident, the case illustrates a trend that prevails even today. The bottomline is that the way that a woman responds to harassment is irrelevant. And when we judge people based on preconceived, made-up notions about how they "should" act, we wind up punishing them for things they have no control over. Operational Definitions Sexual Harassment It is an unlawful act of one person toward another that made her uncomfortable that can be either physically or verbally of a sexual nature. Young Woman A young adult female aging from 13 to 19 years old Public Transportation A transport vehicle used by general public such as Jeepney, MRT, LRT, or taxi. Platforms 22 The ways used by sexually harassed young women in public transportation to share their experience in order to empower themselves and give awareness to other young women. 23 Chapter III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This chapter presents the research design, participants, sampling technique, research locale, research instrument, data gathering procedure, and data analysis or statistical treatment. Research Design This research used the quantitative method, through a self-structured survey or questionnaire. The questionnaire method gathers responses to questions that are essay or agree/neutral/disagree style. It is simply a ‘tool’ for collecting and recording information about a particular issue of interest. (Kirklees, n.d.) This method is suitable for this research to collect factual information and classify people and their circumstances. It is a way to gather straightforward information relating to people’s behaviour and to look at the basic attitudes/opinions of a group of people relating to the particular issue at hand. When data has been quantified, it can be used to compare and contrast other research and may be used to measure change In order to validate the respondents’ answers in the self-made questionnaire, the researchers will conduct a structured interview with 5 young women who have experience sexual harassment in public transportation first hand. The researchers aim to gather data that would reveal the perception of young women aged 13 to 19 on sexual harassment in public transportation,what caused it and how they will respond when faced in the situation of being sexually harassed in public transportation. 24 Research Site Data gathering will be done within the premises Intramuros, Manila. The researchers will be giving out the survey questionnaires near the universities wherethe young women are enrolled in namely; Lyceum of the Philippines University, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, Mapua Institute of Technology and Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Manila. The respondents must be within the13 to 19 year old age bracket and must regularly use any form of public transportation. The survey and interview shall be done within the span of one week. Afterwards, the researchers will validate their answers through a structured interview done with 5 young women who have experienced sexual harassment in public transportation and who fit the given criteria of respondents. Research Participants The respondents for our study are 100young women within the age bracket of 13 to 19 years old who use any form of public transport (i.e. LRT, MRT, Jeepney, Bus, UV Express) on a regular basis. These young women shall be divided by the four educational institutions in Intramuros, Manila namely; Lyceum of the Philippines University, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, Mapua Institute of Technology and PamantasanngLungsodng Manila. The researchers shall get a fixed 25 respondents per institution. S Likewise, the researchers will also be interviewing 5 young women still within the 13 to 19 year old age bracket who have experienced first hand sexual harassment in any form of public transportation. 25 Consent forms will be provided for all the respondents in order to ensure them of confidentiality. Sampling Technique The researchers will apply both Stratified Sampling and Purposive Sampling for this research. The stratified sampling is the apt methods to use in order to ensure that there are enough respondents with certain characteristics in the sample who were chosen randomly. The researchers will divide the respondents into different subgroups or strata, the strata being the four universities within Intramuros, Manila. The criteria includes being a young woman within the 13 to 19 year old bracket, enrolled in one of the four universities in Intramuros, Manila namely; Lyceum of the Philippines University, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, Mapua Institute of Technology and PamantasanngLungsodng Manila. The respondents must use any form of public transportation (i.e. LRT, MRT, Jeepney, Bus, UV Express) on a regular basis. Stratified sampling will ensure that the sample chosen will be representative of the population. To determine the number of respondents per college in proportion to their population totalling to 100 respondents, the stratified sampling formula will be used which is ! f xn Σf The purposive sampling will allow the researchers to specify the characteristics of a population of interest and then try to locate individuals who have those characteristics. For this study, the researchers will use the purposive sampling in order to identify the females belonging to the 13 to 19 years old bracket. 26 Research Instrument The researchers will be using the self-made questionnaire survey for this study specifically, the likert-type questionnaire. The Likert-type scale used a series of questions with five response alternatives: (1) strongly approve, (2) approve, (3) undecided, (4) disapprove, (5) strongly disapprove; this type of questionnaire is designed to measure characteristics or opinions of the respondents. (McLeod, 2008) This type of questionnaire can easily be understood by the respondents because it is the universal method for survey collection. (LaMarca, 2011) In addition, the researchers will easily come up with quantifiable results because of its linear and fixed choice format. Data Gathering Procedure The researchers will first decide on the most suitable, accurate, reliable and time-effective means of selecting the participants and gathering data for the study. The likert-type questionnaire, be the one to be used by the researchers. The questions for the self-made questionnaire survey are to be reviewed and validated by experts in the field of Psychology and Statictics, more or less three individuals. A pre-test will also be conducted by the researchers in order to verify the feasibility and effectivity of the research instrument. The researchers will apply the stratified sampling and purposive sampling techniques in this study to ensure that there are enough respondents in the sample who have met the criteria and who were chosen randomly. To determine the sample size, the researchers will utilize the stratified sampling formula, ! f x n . The Σf purposive sampling will mainly be used to ensure that the respondents will belong to the 27 set age bracket which is 13 to 19 years old. The participants to be chosen are young women within the 13 to 19 year old bracket, enrolled at one of the 4 universities in Intramuros namely;Lyceum of the Philippines University, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, Mapua Institute of Technology and PamantasanngLungsodng Manila. The respondents must also use any form of public transportation (i.e. LRT, MRT, Jeepney, Bus, UV Express) on a regular basis. The number of participants per educational institution or university will be fixed to 25 respondents. The will be giving out the survey questionnaires near the aforementioned schools. The survey shall take place within the vicinity of Intramuros, Manila. Upon meeting the participants, the researchers will validate whether or not they indeed meet the criteria stipulated to be a respondent of the study. The researchers will then provide an overview of the research, emphasizing its purpose and significance. Following that, the researchers will first conduct survey by distributing the likert-type questionnaires. The participants, filling up the questionnaires, means that they have accepted being respondents for the study and are willing to participate in the entire process of data gathering. Likewise, the researchers will also be interviewing 5 young women still within the 13 to 19 year old age bracket who have experienced first hand sexual harassment in any form of public transportation. This shall be done on an agreed time and place preferably within the vicinity of Intramuros. The researchers’ objective is to gather data that would reveal the perception of young women aged 13 to 19 on sexual harassment in public transportation,what caused 28 it and how they will respond when faced in the situation of being sexually harassed in public transportation. 29