Female Students’ Role in University Violence in Jordan: An Anthropological Study

Female Students' Role in University Violence in Jordan: An Anthropological Study Heyam Al-Khatib (bio) and Abdulla Al-Shorman (bio) The role female students play in violence in universities has yet to be socio-culturally examined, especially in Jordan. It is irrational to address university violence in isolation from gender, given that the latter is culturally constructed throughout the lives of Jordanians.1 Female students at Yarmouk University represent 60.5 percent of the total number of students in 2022, where their roles in mitigating the factors that are attributed to university violence are veiled by the dominant masculinity at the university. However, violent acts include harassment, stalking, vandalism, physical assault, sexual assault, and other forms of interpersonal violence.2 The role of role female students in violence at the universities should not be disregarded.3 The utilization of physical strength to control a relationship in which there is an imbalance of power, where the strong dominates the weak, is referred to as violence.4 In the context of universities, violence often involves a more powerful individual or group physically or mentally assaulting a less powerful individual or group or causing damage to property within or near the campus.5 End Page 24 This kind of violence may also occur outside of the university, where individuals with greater physical strength or wealth often intimidate those who are weaker or less affluent, resulting in both physical and psychological distress.6 The main goal of universities is to assist students in developing their personalities so that they can actively participate in society. Along with this goal, higher education institutions should work to identify the causes of violence in universities and devise strategies to decrease it.7 According to global research, sexual harassment is the primary reason for university violence,8,9 but other factors, such as intolerance toward friends and colleagues, family, social, academic, psychological, cultural, educational, media, and political factors, can also be the root cause. However, the latter is not given much attention in Jordanian universities.10 Additional contributing factors may include insufficient access to psychological and educational counseling, formation of student groups based on family connections,11 incorrect socialization, and tribal loyalty.12 Misuse of social media, ineffective communication between students, tribal fanaticism, lack of justice, inequality in the learning environment, and the rising number of students in Jordanian universities are some other reasons for violence.13 Research conducted at Yarmouk University in Jordan has revealed that the major causes of violence are weak religious, social, and cognitive values, low academic performance, and university solidarity toward specialization.14 Poor administrative policies within Yarmouk University, the economic and academic status of students, intolerance among students, and deficient communication skills may also play a part.15 In a more recent study, the major causes were linked End Page 25 to transportation, weak adherence to Islamic values and moral beliefs, traditional teaching techniques, and the impact of local, regional, and global media.16 These studies did not consider the role of female students, and an investigation based on gender could reveal other factors that are deeply embedded in Jordanian culture. As a result, this study aims to investigate the involvement of female students in university violence. The causes of violence will be analyzed from an anthropological standpoint using semi-structured interviews, narrative analysis, and grounded theory in an explanatory approach, which will be more informative than previous descriptive studies. Literature Review Due to its rapid spread, violence necessitates close monitoring, and while it can occur in any setting, it is more prevalent in universities. What sets the university community apart from others is that events that occur on campus can have an impact beyond its boundaries and affect the local community.17 Various studies have examined violence to understand its origins and manifestations. Many international studies have focused on sexual violence at universities and have identified it as a significant public health concern that affects a wide range of individuals, with college students being particularly vulnerable.18,19 The causes of university violence in the Arab region have been found to differ somewhat from those in other regions. Multiple factors have been identified as contributing to violence within universities, including issues related...