Sexual Harassment in Higher Education - Experiences and Perceptions among Students at a Danish University
Taking higher education to be an arena in which professional and social interaction has a special propensity to overlap, this paper investigates university students’ experiences and perceptions of sexual harassment. Based on survey data, we find varying responses according to their gender and nation...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | Danish |
| Published: |
The Royal Danish Library
2019-07-01
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| Series: | Kvinder, Køn & Forskning |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://tidsskrift.dk/KKF/article/view/116114 |
| _version_ | 1818889057694908416 |
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| author | Bontu Lucie Guschke Kaitlin Busse Farhiya Khalid Sara Louise Muhr Sine Nørholm Just |
| author_facet | Bontu Lucie Guschke Kaitlin Busse Farhiya Khalid Sara Louise Muhr Sine Nørholm Just |
| author_sort | Bontu Lucie Guschke |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Taking higher education to be an arena in which professional and social interaction has a special propensity to overlap, this paper investigates university students’ experiences and perceptions of sexual harassment. Based on survey data, we find varying responses according to their gender and nationality, indicating that men and Danish students are least likely to experience and perceive situations as sexual harassment. Further, we find a wide-spread normalization of certain potentially offensive acts and behaviours. In addition, students report varying degrees of acceptability of certain acts, depending on context. On this basis, we argue that normalization hinders individual students’ ability to recognize and denounce sexual harassment. The influence of social norms on individual experiences and perceptions, we assert, means sexual harassment is neither an objective category nor an individual responsibility. In consequence, issues of sexual harassment can only be dealt with if and when universities assume responsibility for the norms that prevail within their spheres of influence. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T17:02:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6dfbcfa6f54e44259d12f3f65bf78653 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2245-6937 |
| language | Danish |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T17:02:58Z |
| publishDate | 2019-07-01 |
| publisher | The Royal Danish Library |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Kvinder, Køn & Forskning |
| spelling | doaj.art-6dfbcfa6f54e44259d12f3f65bf786532022-12-21T20:13:14ZdanThe Royal Danish LibraryKvinder, Køn & Forskning2245-69372019-07-01281-210.7146/kkf.v28i1-2.116114Sexual Harassment in Higher Education - Experiences and Perceptions among Students at a Danish UniversityBontu Lucie GuschkeKaitlin BusseFarhiya KhalidSara Louise MuhrSine Nørholm JustTaking higher education to be an arena in which professional and social interaction has a special propensity to overlap, this paper investigates university students’ experiences and perceptions of sexual harassment. Based on survey data, we find varying responses according to their gender and nationality, indicating that men and Danish students are least likely to experience and perceive situations as sexual harassment. Further, we find a wide-spread normalization of certain potentially offensive acts and behaviours. In addition, students report varying degrees of acceptability of certain acts, depending on context. On this basis, we argue that normalization hinders individual students’ ability to recognize and denounce sexual harassment. The influence of social norms on individual experiences and perceptions, we assert, means sexual harassment is neither an objective category nor an individual responsibility. In consequence, issues of sexual harassment can only be dealt with if and when universities assume responsibility for the norms that prevail within their spheres of influence.https://tidsskrift.dk/KKF/article/view/116114Higher educationsexual harassmentuniversity studentsDenmarknormalizationuniversity |
| spellingShingle | Bontu Lucie Guschke Kaitlin Busse Farhiya Khalid Sara Louise Muhr Sine Nørholm Just Sexual Harassment in Higher Education - Experiences and Perceptions among Students at a Danish University Kvinder, Køn & Forskning Higher education sexual harassment university students Denmark normalization university |
| title | Sexual Harassment in Higher Education - Experiences and Perceptions among Students at a Danish University |
| title_full | Sexual Harassment in Higher Education - Experiences and Perceptions among Students at a Danish University |
| title_fullStr | Sexual Harassment in Higher Education - Experiences and Perceptions among Students at a Danish University |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sexual Harassment in Higher Education - Experiences and Perceptions among Students at a Danish University |
| title_short | Sexual Harassment in Higher Education - Experiences and Perceptions among Students at a Danish University |
| title_sort | sexual harassment in higher education experiences and perceptions among students at a danish university |
| topic | Higher education sexual harassment university students Denmark normalization university |
| url | https://tidsskrift.dk/KKF/article/view/116114 |
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