Student movements to eradicate sexual violence in universities
Gender-based violence (GBV) in academia often remains hidden in the shadows, silencing survivors and perpetuating cycles of injustice. But with the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the UniswithHeart project is turning the tide. By connecting survivors, challenging systemic barriers, and championing zero tolerance, this initiative is creating a safer, more inclusive academic environment worldwide. Specifically, the project explores how these movements foster contexts of zero tolerance, empower victims to speak up and play a vital role in creating an academic environment free of GBV while supporting survivors.
Empowerment of survivors
The development of support networks has been crucial to combatting GBV in academia. Of particular note is the European Student Networks of Support (SNS), product of the UniswithHeart project, but which had its beginnings in Spain after being catalysed by a report of a case of sexual harassment (SH) at a university. “There is a path that survivors usually have to follow when they want to report a case. A bureaucratic process, that is not easy to carry out, is full of repeated interrogations, questions and doubts,” reports Gema Tomás, UniswithHeart’s advisor at the University of Deusto in Spain. “Our experience revealed a cruel reality: at universities, it is worse to report than to suffer harassment,” says Ana Vidu, the project fellow at the University of Ramon Llull, Barcelona. She continues: “Establishing SNS became the channel to achieve this change.”
Working with higher authorities to meet goals
UniswithHeart provides training, advice and support to both universities and policymakers. There is growing interest in addressing and preventing sexual harassment. With 29 conferences, 17 invited talks, 15 training seminars, 11 media and video coverage, 13 publications and three podcasts, the project has already informed many universities, policymakers and society at large on four continents, with collaborations in Spain, Argentina, Australia, Kenya and the United States. It is worth mentioning the NASEM 2023 Public Summit held in Washington DC. The results of UniswithHeart were presented in this context, highlighting the project’s transnational focus on good practices that can be implemented in Europe and vice versa. “The presence of press coverage, which advocates for survivors, also puts pressure on universities to take action in favour of the most vulnerable individuals. As a result, victims are becoming less afraid to speak out, knowing there are more people on their side,” emphasises Tomás.
Achievements that stand out
The contribution of UniswithHeart cannot be overstated. Tangible outcomes of the research over 3 years also include increased university administrations’ understanding of the severe consequences survivors face when institutions fail to act and encourage them to implement anti-retaliations, ‘pass the harasser’ and ‘institutional courage’ policies. Besides contributing to reduction in harassment cases and to raise awareness about the prevalence of SH on European campuses, it increased research into SH in universities and initiated the inclusion of peer-to-peer advocates and the establishment of training on SH and consent within Spanish academic programmes; besides legislative advancements and whistleblower policies. However, the need to recognise and institutionalise informal mechanisms, such as SNS, is one of the project’s major achievements. The triumph of the centres of assistance studied (CARE Centers) shows that formal and informal mechanisms must work together in the common mission of preventing and responding to harassment in academia. Looking to the future, Vidu and Tomás both agree that a notable and unprecedented change is the likelihood that someone will file a complaint against a university for failing to uphold its own policies, rather than complaining about the perpetrator of the harassment. The UniswithHeart project added to this approach and it is expected that Spanish universities will experience this very soon; contributing to a more humane academy, to ‘universities with heart’.
Keywords
UniswithHeart, survivors, universities, sexual harassment, victims, social movements, zero tolerance, gender-based violence
