This study explores sexual harassment experienced by women in the public spaces of Kathmandu, Nepal, with a focus on their emotional responses and the mediating resources they employ to cope with such experiences. Theoretically, the study draws on the sensibilities of emotions that result from violence by examining the women’s understanding to perceive, interpret, and respond to emotions in a manner that helps them manage their presence in public spaces. Data were collected from semi-structured individual and group interviews with women who frequently used public spaces. Adopting a constructivist approach, the findings discuss three sub-themes: (1) the emotional impacts of sexual harassment, encompassing a wide range of emotions among respondents; (2) responses to these emotions and incidents through freeze, flight, and fight mechanisms; and (3) the coping strategies and social support mechanisms utilized to deal with the situation. This research significantly contributes to our understanding of the convergence of the sociology of emotions with gender-based violence, with specific attention to sensibilities, in rapidly transforming societies.
BenardCSchlafferE (1984) The man in the street: why he harasses. In: JaggerAMRothenbergPS (eds) Feminist Frameworks: Alternative Theoretical Accounts of the Relations between Women and Men. New York: McGraw Hill, 70–72.
2.
BennettL (1983) Dangerous Wives and Sacred Sisters. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
3.
BericatE (2016) The sociology of emotions: four decades of progress. Current Sociology64(3): 491–513.
4.
BowmanCG (1993) Street harassment and the informal ghettoization of women. Harvard Law Review106(3): 517–580.
5.
ButlerJ (1988) Performative acts and gender constitution: an essay in phenomenology and feminist theory. Theatre Journal40(4): 519–531.
6.
CampbellRAhrensCESeflT, et al. (2001) Social reactions to rape victims: healing and hurtful effects on psychological and physical health outcomes. Violence & Victims16(3): 287–302.
7.
Central Bureau of Statistics (2021) National Population and Housing Census 2021: National Report. Kathmandu, Nepal: CBS.
CokerALDavisKEAriasI, et al. (2002) Physical and mental health effects of intimate partner violence for men and women. American Journal of Preventive Medicine23(4): 260–268.
10.
DhillonMBakayaS (2014) Street harassment: a qualitative study of the experiences of young women in Delhi. Sage4(3): 2158244014543786.
11.
DonnellyLCCalogeroRM (2018) The role of stranger harassment experiences in college women’s perceived possibility of gender crimes happening to them. Journal of Applied Social Psychology48(3): 165–173.
12.
FairchildKRudmanLA (2008) Everyday stranger harassment and women’s objectification. Social Justice Research21: 338–357.
13.
FitzgeraldLF (1990) Assessing strategies for coping with harassment: a theoretical/empirical approach. In: Paper Presented at the Midwinter Conference of the Association for Women in Psychology, Tempe, AZ.
14.
FitzgeraldLFGelfandMJDrasgowF (1995) Measuring sexual harassment: theoretical and psychometric advances. Basic and Applied Social Psychology17: 425–445.
15.
GardnerCB (1995) Passing by: Gender and Public Harassment. Berkeley: University of California Press.
16.
GlaserBStraussA (2017) Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research. Oxfordshire, UK: Routledge.
17.
GordonMTRigerS (1989) The Female Fear. New York: Free Press.
18.
HarawayD (2001) Gender for a Marxist dictionary: the sexual politics of a word. In: ElizabethCRodmanRC (eds) Women, Gender, Religion: A Reader. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 98–119.
19.
HoIKDinhKTBellefontaineSA, et al. (2012) Sexual harassment and posttraumatic stress symptoms among Asian and White Women. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma21: 95–113.
20.
HouleJNStaffJMortimerJT, et al. (2011) The impact of sexual harassment on depressive symptoms during the early occupational career. Society and Mental Health1: 89–105.
21.
HyersLL (2007) Resisting prejudice every day: exploring women’s assertive responses to anti-black racism, anti-semitism, heterosexism, and sexism. Sex Roles56: 1–12.
22.
KearlH (2010) Stop Street Harassment: Making Public Places Safe and Welcoming for Women. Santa Barbara: Praeger.
23.
KemperTD (1978) Toward a sociology of emotions: some problems and some solutions. The American Sociologist13(1): 30–41.
24.
KisslingEA (1991) Street harassment: the language of sexual terrorism. Discourse & Society2: 451–460.
25.
LatchevaR (2017) Sexual harassment in the European Union: a pervasive but still hidden form of gender-based violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence32(12): 1821–1852.
26.
LoganLS (2015) Street harassment: current and promising avenues for researchers and activists. Sociology Compass9(3): 196–211.
27.
MacmillanRNierobiszAWelshS (2000) Experiencing the streets: harassment and perceptions of safety among women. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency37: 306–322.
28.
MasonGUllmanSLongSE, et al. (2009) Social support and risk of sexual assault revictimization. Journal of Community Psychology37: 58–72.
29.
MénardKSHallGCNPhungAH, et al. (2003) Gender differences in sexual harassment and coercion in college students: developmental, individual, and situational determinants. Journal of Interpersonal Violence18(10): 1222–1239.
30.
MurrayJ (2021) Sensibility: passion, emotion, affect. In: De BruynF (ed) The Cambridge Companion to Eighteenth-Century Thought. Cambridge Companions to Literature. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 227–247.
31.
NeupaneGChesney-LindM (2014) Violence against women on public transport in Nepal: sexual harassment and the spatial expression of male privilege. International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice38(1): 23–38.
32.
NewsomJTRookKSNishishibaM, et al. (2005) Understanding the relative importance of positive and negative social exchanges: examining specific domains and appraisals. Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences60(6): P304–P312.
33.
OakleyA (1981) Interviewing women: a contradiction in terms? In: HelenR (ed) Doing Feminist Research. London, UK: Routledge, 30–61.
34.
PearlinLILiebermanMAMenaghanEG, et al. (1981) The stress process. Journal of Health and Social Behavior22: 337–356.
35.
RigerSGordonMT (1981) The fear of rape: a study in social control. Journal of Social Issues37: 71–92.
36.
SatoS (2023) Women in ‘New Nepal’: Through the Lens of Classed, Ethnic, and Gendered Peripheries. India: Routledge.
37.
SchneiderKTSwanSFitzgeraldLF (1997) Job-related and psychological effects of sexual harassment in the workplace: empirical evidence from two organizations. Journal of Applied Psychology82(3): 401–415.
38.
ScribanoA (2021) Emotions and politics of sensibilities in Latin America. International Sociology36(4): 585–604.
39.
SharmaM (2015) Process and impact of globalization in Nepalese women. Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthropology9: 128–146.
40.
ThoitsPA (2011) Mechanisms linking social ties and support to physical and mental health. Journal of Health and Social Behavior52: 145–161.
41.
UpretyS (2016) Triple headed patriarchal hydra: masculinities and violence against women in Nepal. Sociology and Anthropology4(7): 509–522.
ZakarRZakarMZFaistT, et al. (2012) Intimate partner violence against women and its related immigration stressors in Pakistani immigrant families in Germany. SpringerPlus1: 5–14.
44.
ZhangRVoronovMToubianaM, et al. (2024) Beyond the feeling individual: insights from sociology on emotions and embeddedness. Journal of Management Studies61(5): 2212–2250.
