Prevalence of Sexual Harassment and its Associated Factors among Registered Nurses Working in Government Hospitals in Melaka State, Malaysia.

INTRODUCTION This study focuses on sexual harassment, a form of psycological hazard that female registered nurses face throughout their day to day routine. The objective of this study is to find the prevalence of sexual harassment among female registered nurses working in government hospitals in Melaka, Malaysia and factors affecting them. METHODS This is a cross sectional study conducted on 455 female registered nurses who have worked more than one year in the present 3 government hospitals in Melaka, Malaysia. A validated and pre tested questionnaires were given for the respondents to answer. Before respondents answer the questionaires, they are required to read the definition and the forms of sexual harassment provided. This is to help them to understand the correct definition and forms of sexual harassment that they could have experienced. The researcher is available during the distribution of the questionnaires and the respondents are free to ask the researcher anything that they do not understand about it. RESULTS The results of this study show that the prevalence of sexual harassment among these nurses was 51.2% with the past one year incidence recorded at 22.8%. The most common forms of sexual harassment were verbal (46.6% ), visual (24.8% ), psycological (20.9%), physical (20.7%) and non -verbal (16.7% ). The study showed that 74.7% of the victims suffered from psychological effects brought upon by their encounter with various types of sexual harrasement at work. The study also found that the victims' self-perception of their physicality was a contributing factor to the prevalance of this situation. Those who were pretty, with attractive body figure, a friendly character and easy going had a higher prevalence of sexual harassment in the workplace. Meanwhile, those who were strict, and those who had a fierce character were not prone to sexual harassment. CONCLUSION The prevalence of sexual harassment among registered nurses in the workplace found in this study was high and self-perception profile of the victims of sexual harassment was the main contributing factor to the problem. Sexual harassment in the workplace should not be taken lightly because the resulting effects was not only felt by the victims, but also by their family members, colleagues and patients under their care. Hence, steps should be taken by the hospital managements to manage and prevent this problem from occuring again in the future.