Mexican university students perception of sexual harassment in public spaces

Abstract

Violence against women in public spaces has serious consequences on their mobility, in addition to limiting their access to education, employment, health, transportation, and spaces to enjoy their free time; the above segregates, limits and excludes them, since fear and lack of security can affect their personal, academic and professional empowerment and progress. For this reason, the objective of the article was to study the perceptions of male and female university students about the elements that make up the dimensions that shape sexual harassment in public spaces, the intervention strategies towards sexual violence, and the security-oriented actions. It is a cross-sectional study, data collection was carried out through a questionnaire. Factor analysis and generalized linear models were used to determine the main effects on the groups of the sociodemographic variables, and on the factors found. 3,226 students from three higher education institutions participated. In regard to the sexual harassment in public spaces dimension, it is concluded that women receive greater manifestations of violence in public spaces than men; the female university students who are most at risk are the ones who have no one to accompany them to take safe transportation, and those who have a job. Sexual harassment behaviors they frequently receive range from whistling to sexual assault. Men, instead, can travel more freely. Lastly, with respect to the factors that make up the intervention strategies and security-oriented actions, it is imperative that universities work together with the government to implement interventions that mitigate the phenomenon—this requires the participation of young university students.