Sexual misconduct among high school students in Vietnam
Background: Sexual misconduct is a global problem. Adolescents 15–19 years face the highest risk of sexual misconduct, however, studies on school-based sexual misconduct in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) are limited. We aimed to determine the prevalence of sexual misconduct, including sexua...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Child Protection and Practice |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950193825000579 |
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| author | Kim Tu Tran Ruschelle M. Leone Kevin M. Swartout Minh Hung Tran Oanh Trinh Kathryn M. Yount |
| author_facet | Kim Tu Tran Ruschelle M. Leone Kevin M. Swartout Minh Hung Tran Oanh Trinh Kathryn M. Yount |
| author_sort | Kim Tu Tran |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Sexual misconduct is a global problem. Adolescents 15–19 years face the highest risk of sexual misconduct, however, studies on school-based sexual misconduct in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) are limited. We aimed to determine the prevalence of sexual misconduct, including sexual harassment, stalking, dating violence, and sexual violence experiences among students at three high schools in Vietnam since their enrollment. Methods: Between February and May 2023, 754 students in three high schools in Ho Chi Minh City completed the adapted Administrator-Researcher Campus Climate Collaborative online. Results: Overall, 54.5 % of students reported any sexual misconduct since enrolling in high school. The prevalence of sexual harassment victimization was 40.2 % perpetrated by staff and 30.2 % perpetrated by students. Stalking prevalence was 18.3 %, and 13.1 % of students reported experiencing dating violence. Nearly 1 in 10 (8.7 %) of students reported sexual violence victimization. Sexual coercion prevalence was highest in the middle-ranked school (6.2 %) and lowest in the high-ranked school (1.6 %) (p = 0.028). Compared to girls, boys reported a higher prevalence of unwanted sexual attention (18.7 % vs. 10.9 %) and sexual coercion (10.1 % vs 4.6 %) by staff (p = 0.001). Girls reported a higher prevalence of dating violence victimization than boys (14.9 % vs. 9.9 %, p = 0.029). Conclusion: Sexual misconduct prevalence among high school students in Ho Chi Minh City is high with notable gender differences in victimization. Awareness raising among parents, school administrators, and youth is needed to develop contextually appropriate preventive and response programs to address sexual misconduct in high schools across Vietnam. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4d58d635c7414f0983b3a0edaeb2c628 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2950-1938 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Child Protection and Practice |
| spelling | doaj-art-4d58d635c7414f0983b3a0edaeb2c6282025-08-20T02:35:48ZengElsevierChild Protection and Practice2950-19382025-07-01510015010.1016/j.chipro.2025.100150Sexual misconduct among high school students in VietnamKim Tu Tran0Ruschelle M. Leone1Kevin M. Swartout2Minh Hung Tran3Oanh Trinh4Kathryn M. Yount5Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Public Health, University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam; Corresponding author.Department of Health Policy and Behavioral Sciences, School of Public Health, Georgia State University, Atlanta, USADepartment of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, USACenter for Creative Initiatives in Health and Population (CCIHP), Hanoi, Viet NamDepartment of Epidemiology, Faculty of Public Health, University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet NamHubert Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, USA; Department of Sociology, Emory College of Arts and Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, USA; Corresponding author. Hubert Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, USA.Background: Sexual misconduct is a global problem. Adolescents 15–19 years face the highest risk of sexual misconduct, however, studies on school-based sexual misconduct in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) are limited. We aimed to determine the prevalence of sexual misconduct, including sexual harassment, stalking, dating violence, and sexual violence experiences among students at three high schools in Vietnam since their enrollment. Methods: Between February and May 2023, 754 students in three high schools in Ho Chi Minh City completed the adapted Administrator-Researcher Campus Climate Collaborative online. Results: Overall, 54.5 % of students reported any sexual misconduct since enrolling in high school. The prevalence of sexual harassment victimization was 40.2 % perpetrated by staff and 30.2 % perpetrated by students. Stalking prevalence was 18.3 %, and 13.1 % of students reported experiencing dating violence. Nearly 1 in 10 (8.7 %) of students reported sexual violence victimization. Sexual coercion prevalence was highest in the middle-ranked school (6.2 %) and lowest in the high-ranked school (1.6 %) (p = 0.028). Compared to girls, boys reported a higher prevalence of unwanted sexual attention (18.7 % vs. 10.9 %) and sexual coercion (10.1 % vs 4.6 %) by staff (p = 0.001). Girls reported a higher prevalence of dating violence victimization than boys (14.9 % vs. 9.9 %, p = 0.029). Conclusion: Sexual misconduct prevalence among high school students in Ho Chi Minh City is high with notable gender differences in victimization. Awareness raising among parents, school administrators, and youth is needed to develop contextually appropriate preventive and response programs to address sexual misconduct in high schools across Vietnam.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950193825000579Sexual misconductSexual harassmentSexual violenceDating violenceHigh school studentsAdolescents |
| spellingShingle | Kim Tu Tran Ruschelle M. Leone Kevin M. Swartout Minh Hung Tran Oanh Trinh Kathryn M. Yount Sexual misconduct among high school students in Vietnam Child Protection and Practice Sexual misconduct Sexual harassment Sexual violence Dating violence High school students Adolescents |
| title | Sexual misconduct among high school students in Vietnam |
| title_full | Sexual misconduct among high school students in Vietnam |
| title_fullStr | Sexual misconduct among high school students in Vietnam |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sexual misconduct among high school students in Vietnam |
| title_short | Sexual misconduct among high school students in Vietnam |
| title_sort | sexual misconduct among high school students in vietnam |
| topic | Sexual misconduct Sexual harassment Sexual violence Dating violence High school students Adolescents |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950193825000579 |
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