Key Social Norms Take-aways This study highlights how social norms in Tanzania shape understandings of sexual harassment, particularly through entrenched gender roles and power dynamics. Norms around male entitlement to women’s bodies, hierarchical power in schools and workplaces, and expectations that women must publicly reject advances for them to be labeled as harassment all contribute to ambiguous and contested definitions. Harassment was often normalized when embedded in exchanges involving material benefits or status, with participants distinguishing between harassment and seduction based on the setting, relationship between individuals, and social perceptions of morality. These findings reveal how norms obscure consent and reinforce gendered vulnerability, particularly for adolescent girls and economically disadvantaged women.

Objectives To explore how sexual harassment is conceptualized among adolescents and adults in Mwanza, Tanzania, and to examine how perceptions of consent, male power, and social norms influence those understandings across different settings.

Methods This qualitative study involved 74 in-depth interviews and 13 focus group discussions with adolescents and adults (both male and female) across three settings: schools, workplaces, and public spaces in Mwanza, Tanzania. Participants included students, teachers, parents, employers, and employees. Thematic analysis was used to examine how sexual harassment was defined, experienced, and rationalized across contexts.

Intervention Details (Not applicable—this was a qualitative research study; no intervention was implemented.)

Results Participants frequently conflated sexual harassment with physical sexual violence, with limited recognition of non-physical forms such as verbal comments or persistent unwanted attention. Consent was a central but poorly understood concept; ambiguity often arose around non-verbal cues or situations where material exchange occurred. Harassment was more likely to be identified when there was a clear lack of consent and when women publicly rejected advances. In contexts where men held material or social power, such as teachers or employers, unwanted advances were often normalized or rationalized. Girls and women felt pressure to tolerate harassment due to economic dependence or fear of social sanction. The same behavior could be interpreted as courtship or harassment depending on the actors, context, and societal expectations.

Conclusions Conceptualizations of sexual harassment in Tanzania are shaped by intersecting norms around gender, power, and morality. Interventions must address not only legal definitions but also community-level beliefs and expectations to shift how harassment is recognized and challenged across settings.