Sexual and Sexist Violence in the Universities of Southern Spain

Abstract

Situations of sexual and sexist harassment are the result of daily and widespread practices that also occur in universities. This study aims to investigate experienced and perceived situations of sexual and sexist violence in universities in southern Spain. The methodology consists of a review of the literature and the production of primary data using the quantitative method and the questionnaire technique. The sample consisted of 1,583 members of the university community of one of the ten universities in southern Spain, with a total population of 23,500 people. The results, in terms of harassment experienced (real or technical), reveal that the main victims of sexual and sexist harassment in the universities of southern Spain are women and people with different sexual identities (more than 83% of cases), between 19 and 50 years, and belonging to the student, teaching and research staff, and administration and services staff, without a permanent position. Female students are the most vulnerable, while men, in any of the categories, are victims in less than 17% of cases. Likewise, in 86% of the cases the harasser is a male, while women are harassers in 10.5% of the cases and people with diverse sexual identity are harassers in 3.5% of the situations. With regard to perceived (declared) harassment, the study concludes that the sex of the people surveyed, their level of studies, the university campus to which they belong and gender stereotypes are determining factors in the degree of perception of harassment situations. On the other hand, age, status, and employment status do not play a significant role in the respondents’ perceptions.