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Image: istock via AFP Relaxnews.
As more voices speak out and are taken seriously, the true scale of sexual and sexist violence on college campuses around the world is beginning to come to light. Surveys conducted among students in different parts of the world give an idea of the extent of the abuse.
The figures are sobering. The extent of sexual violence on college campuses is coming to light as more and more students are surveyed around the world. In France, for example, one in 20 students said they had been a victim of rape, while one student in 10 had suffered a sexual assault, according to a survey conducted by the Student Observatory of Sexual and Sexist Violence in Higher Education ( Observatoire étudiant des violences sexuelles et sexistes dans l’Enseignement supérieur), published on October 12.
From the United Kingdom to the United States and from India to China, a kind of common scene of abuse seems to emerge: parties, alcohol, a climate of machismo and a powerful culture of silence.
Nondisclosure Agreements Silence Victims at UK Universities
A survey by Revolt Sexual Assault and The Student Room, published in March 2018, revealed that 70% of female students and recent graduates surveyed had experienced sexual violence at British universities. The research also highlighted the very low number of reported cases, with only 6% of those who had experienced sexual assault or harassment reporting their experience to the university.
A few months later, data reported by the BBC revealed that nearly a third of UK universities had used non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to prevent students from making their complaints, such as sexual harassment or assault, public.
These agreements usually involve the payment of a sum of money to the victims in exchange for their silence. This shocking practice is undoubtedly driven by the desire to limit the damage to the reputations of institutions, but it speaks volumes about the anguish victims may face.
College students suffer sexual assault at US universities.
Also in the United States, sexual violence appears to be widespread on college campuses. According to a study of more than 181,000 students conducted by the Association of American Universities and released last year, more than one in four college students enrolled in 33 of the nation’s top universities reported being sexually assaulted during their college years.
Fewer than 30% of these women reported the incidents to their universities, generally because they thought they could handle it alone, felt ashamed or embarrassed, or felt that what they had experienced was not serious enough to warrant further action.
A truly global problem
Asia is also no stranger to the problem. In India, the number of reported cases of sexual harassment in higher education institutions increased by 50% between 2016 and 2017, according to figures from the Ministry of Education.
In China, nearly 70% of students aged 18-22 enrolled in institutions in 34 Chinese provinces said they had experienced sexual harassment, according to a 2017 study by the Guangzhou Center for Gender and Sexuality Education and Beijing Impact. Law firm. That increased to 75% among the surveyed students.
Unfortunately, these figures only offer a snapshot of the problem when you consider the broader scale of sexual violence in the world of higher education. RGA
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