Language/Amharic/Culture/Sexual-Harassment-in-Ethiopia
Even though sexual harassment is illegal in many countries, the perception each community has towards unwelcome sexual advance, request for sexual favors, or any other verbal or physical behavior of a sexual nature may differ slightly.
Among Ethiopian communities most of the time it is males who harass females. Harassing behaviors may include, but are not limited to, written or spoken epithets; derogatory or sexually suggestive comments or slurs about an individual’s body or dress; sexual jokes and innuendo; whistling or suggestive sounds; stalking, impeding or blocking movement; and touching, fondling, or intentional brushing against an individual’s body.
Relatively speaking, verbal sexual harassment is common in Ethiopia. Ethiopian women tend to ignore or “turn a deaf ear” to these overtures. Verbal harassment is often not considered to be outright harassment by people of either gender. However, other (especially physical) types of harassment are taken seriously and will generally result in consequences being taken against the harasser.
Source
https://www.livelingua.com/peace-corps/Amharic/Amharic%20Peace%20Corps%20Language%20Manual-2015.pdf