Woman in public transport: Comparing the psychological symptoms of women experiencing and not experiencing sexual victimization in public transport

Sexual victimization in public transport is a significant social problem strived for its solution at the present time. This research was conducted to examine whether or not experiencing sexual victimization in public transport has an effect on psychological symptoms, and offer a perspective about this issue. The sample of the study consists of 220 female participants (110= experienced sexual victimization in public transport, 110= not experienced sexual victimization in public transport). In the study, Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), The State Anxiety Inventory, The Fear of Crime Scale, General Self Efficacy (GSE) Scale, and Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale were used. Research data were analyzed with multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), One- way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and descriptive statistics. The results show that women who experienced sexual victimization in public transportation, compared to women who not experienced sexual victimization in public transport, have significantly higher levels of general psychological symptoms, posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, fear of crime, and state anxiety scores, while they have significantly lower self-esteem level. But, there was no significant difference in the self-efficacy levels between groups. The strengths, limitations, and contributions of the study were discussed in the light of the literature.