Understanding Iranian Women’s Response to Sexual Harassment by Customers: a Directed Content Analysis Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior

Introduction Protecting the female workforce from sexual harassment is a legal duty for employees in most countries; nevertheless, it is a common phenomenon. The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate how and why Iranian women working in retail sales responded when confronted by sexual harassment by customers. Methods The setting for this qualitative study was Shiraz, Iran, in 2020. Purposeful and snowball sampling was used to recruit 16 women with at least 12 months experience in clothing sales and experience of customer-based sexual harassment. The Theory of Planned Behavior was used as a conceptual theoretical framework for the semi-structured in-depth interview guide and directed content analysis of the data. Results All participants generally stayed silent, did not retaliate, and did not report events of sexual harassment. Motivations to comply with employer expectations, threats of getting fired, negative judgments from important others, a lack of social support, and a fear of retaliation from the harasser were negative personal consequences which decreased their perceived power to respond. Conclusions The Theory of Planned Behavior provided a good framework to explain saleswomen’s responses to sexual harassment from customers. Silence and inaction were the norm because of perceived potentials for further personal harm, in common with other studies. Policy Implications Our findings indicate a need for educational interventions that can develop assertiveness skills to empower female employees to eliminate acceptance of customer-based sexual harassment as part of the job, as well as call upon the protection they should have from labor laws.