Sexual harassment in public transportation among female student in Kathmandu valley

PURPOSE: Sexual harassment has been recognized as a serious problem in the world. It reduces the dignity of human rights. Therefore, this study aims to identify the prevalence of sexual harassment in public transportation and its consequences on female students in the Kathmandu valley of Nepal. METHODS: A structured questionnaire was applied for collecting the data from five health science locations in the Kathmandu Valley. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to identify the association with sexual harassment and its determinants. RESULTS: The female student who lived far away from campus (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] =9.02, 95% confidence interval [CI] =0.56, 14.03) and lived alone (AOR =10.44, 95% CI =2.83, 38.46) had more chance to be harassed. However, those students who traveled sometimes (AOR =0.01, 95% CI =0, 0.03) had a lower chance to face sexual harassment in public transportation. CONCLUSION: Sexual harassment in public transportation was found to be significantly higher in female students who live alone and who travel more frequently in the evening. In addition, the study concluded that public vehicles are strongly associated with sexual harassment among female students in the Kathmandu Valley.