Abstract

HINOJOSA-MILLAN, Salomé et al. Prevalence of sexual violence among students of the Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira, Colombia, 2010. Rev Colomb Obstet Ginecol [online]. 2013, vol.64, n.1, pp.21-26. ISSN 0034-7434.

Objective: Identifying the prevalence of sexual violence (SV) during university life among students of the Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira, during the second semester of 2010, and to describe its characteristics. Materials and methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study. Population: 10,441 undergraduate students enrolled for the second academic period of 2010. Exclusion criteria: night students. Stratified random sample, keeping the percentage of students by program and gender, for a total of 128 students. Four types of variables were analyzed: demographics (gender, age, program); violence (period, type and place); assault (type of assailant, force); and actions taken by the victims (reporting, response). The results are presented as proportions with their respective 95% Confidence Intervals. Results: 128 surveys were conducted involving 26 of the 33 programs offered at the University. A total of 17 students (13%; 95% CI: 8-20%) reported the occurrence of one or more violent sexual events during their university life. The most frequent type of sexual violence was harassment (28 episodes), considered mild or verbal in 70% of cases. There were 2 cases of rape. Of the victims, 37% reported the event, and one person received treatment. Conclusion: Sexual violence is a problem found also in the university world. It does not only affect females but also males, it is found in its different forms (ranging from mild harassment to rape), and constitutes a violation of the students’ sexual rights. In most cases, the victims have to deal with their pain in silence.

Keywords : Sexual violence; sexual harassment; adolescent; universities; social power.

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