ABSTRACT

Sextortion as a severe form of sexual harassment, has always constituted a persistent social phenomenon that undermines gender equality in different societies. However, sextortion remains an under-researched field in many countries, especially in the non-Western world. Informed by feminist theories, this study analysed the causes and consequences of sextortion in Rwanda. A mixed-methods design was applied with qualitative data being collected through semi-structured interviews conducted with 150 respondents. Data analysis was inspired by a qualitative approach of thematic analysis. Emergent themes from the interviews were identified and coded using NVivo software, while SPSS software was useful to generate descriptive statistics in order to characterise the data set based on its properties. Key findings include the dearth of reporting cases of sextortion and its laws; persistence of patriarchal system; gender income inequality and an increase in the unemployment rate as the main causes of sextortion. The decline of victims’ economic status; psychological and health problems; an increase of gender inequality and domestic violence; a decrease of productivity and credibility; and deterioration of various human rights were among the main consequences of this phenomenon. These findings bear significant practical implications including the fact that sextortion may undermine efforts to end gender inequality.

抽象的

性别歧视作为一种严重的性骚扰形式，一直构成一种持续存在的社会现象，破坏了不同社会中的性别平等。但是，在许多国家，尤其是在非西方国家，性别歧视仍处于研究不足的领域。在女权主义理论的指导下，这项研究分析了卢旺达发生性虐待的原因和后果。应用了混合方法设计，并通过与150位受访者进行的半结构化访谈收集了定性数据。数据分析的灵感来自定性分析方法。访谈中出现的主题使用NVivo软件进行了识别和编码，而SPSS软件可用于生成描述性统计数据，以便根据其属性来表征数据集。主要发现包括缺乏举报性侵犯案件及其法律的报告；父权制的持久性；性别收入不平等和失业率上升是造成性别歧视的主要原因。受害者的经济地位下降；心理和健康问题；性别不平等和家庭暴力加剧；生产力和信誉下降；各种人权的恶化是这种现象的主要后果。这些发现具有重大的实际意义，包括性别歧视可能破坏消除性别不平等的努力。性别不平等和家庭暴力加剧；生产力和信誉下降；各种人权的恶化是这种现象的主要后果。这些发现具有重大的实际意义，包括性别歧视可能破坏消除性别不平等的努力。性别不平等和家庭暴力加剧；生产力和信誉下降；各种人权的恶化是这种现象的主要后果。这些发现具有重大的实际意义，包括性别歧视可能破坏消除性别不平等的努力。