Abstract
The sociocultural contexts of higher education institutions form the background for gender-based violence in professional structures and environment of academia. The article presents the comparative analysis of sexual violence and the reasons for its (non-)disclosure at the universities in Lithuania and Cyprus. The findings of focus group interviews conducted within the framework of the Ending Sexual Harassment and Violence in Third Level Education (ESHTE) project, co-funded by the European Union, have been summarized in the present research. The focus group participants from each partner university involved university teachers, administrative staff, counselors and university students. The research was conducted during a 3-month period between 2017 and 2018. The main aim was to investigate university staffs’ and students’ experiences in the disclosures of the cases of sexual violence and harassment (SVH) in university environment and campus, as well as their awareness of existing procedures and policies in handling the cases of SVH. Their personal experiences, attitudes and beliefs of SVH, as well as any suggestions they have towards the improvement of disclosures of SVH are discussed in the article.
Highlights
Gender-based violence (GBV)1 is happening across the European Union (EU) and it is a human rights violation
As universities work to prevent and respond to sexual violence on campus, limited data are available that speak to what these efforts look like on the institutional level of University of Nicosia and Šiauliai University.Our research shows that despite the fact that UN academic and staff members are not properly informed regarding issues of sexual violence and harassment (SVH), both within the university context as well as at the national level, they showed a great interest and eagerness in participating in training workshops since they do not feel confident enough to carry on their tasks with such limited knowledge of the issue
The common concerns of the students of UN and Šiauliai University (ŠU): there is no awareness of raising initiatives on SVH; there is no clear understanding of consent; there is no clear understanding of all SVH forms; there is no clear understanding of how they could intervene as bystanders; there is a clear victim-blaming rhetoric and a prevailing culture of gender-based discrimination
Summary
Gender-based violence (GBV) is happening across the European Union (EU) and it is a human rights violation. GBV, including sexual harassment in European universities and research organizations, tends to be underestimated and there is little knowledge related to this issue. The data (both at EU and national level) reveals a high number of women students experiencing some form of sexual violence and harassment related to their lives in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). This is sometimes so frequent and so pervasive that they themselves may not recognize this as such until the discussions in a research study group ‘illuminate’ the reality of their experiences. Overall the research confirmed that victims of sexual violence are very reluctant to disclose their victimisation to universities or state authorities
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