Survey on discrimination, sexualised harassment and violence among students and employees at Ulm University

Sexualised harassment and violence is also widespread at German universities and colleges. Various structural and socio-cultural conditions favour the occurrence of boundary violations. For example, power imbalances and dependency structures encourage the occurrence of sexualised harassment (Schröttle et al., 2019). Against this backdrop, the high prevalence of sexualised harassment in the university context is not surprising. According to the German country report of an EU-wide study on sexualised harassment and violence against female students, more than half of the students surveyed reported having been sexually harassed during their studies (Feltes et al., 2012).

The aim of this survey is to investigate the prevalence of discrimination, sexualised harassment and violence among employees and students at Ulm University, as well as possible consequences and risk factors.

The aim is to raise awareness of discrimination and sexualised harassment and to create an atmosphere of respectful interaction in the long term through preventative measures.

The survey is anonymised. An evaluation at participant level is not possible. The aim of the survey is not to initiate disciplinary action or similar.

The questionnaire was created in cooperation with the UniSAFE project, which is being carried out in 15 countries across the EU

The survey was carried out by Prof. Clemens, head of the working group "Prevalence of sexualised harassment in the healthcare sector" and Prof. Fegert, head of the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at Ulm University Hospital. The Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy has been significantly involved in the promotion, development and implementation of protection concepts in institutions from the very beginning. The survey was carried out in cooperation with Dr Güttel(Equal Opportunities Department of the University of Ulm)

Feltes, List, Schneider and Höfker (2012) Gender-based Violence, Stalking and Fear of Crime. Country Report Germany. Bochum.

Schröttle M, Meshkova K and Lehmann C (2019) Dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace - solution strategies and intervention measures.