What is it about?
The aim of this study is twofold: (a) to identify the prevalence of sexual harassment and sex-based harassment among teaching and research staff (TRS) at a public university; and (b) to examine the predictive capacity of sociodemographic variables and prior harassment experiences on the frequency of different forms of sexual victimization (SEQ): gender harassment, unwanted sexual attention, and sexual coercion. A total of 425 TRS members participated (48.9% women, 50.6% men, 0.5% not identified; mean age = 45.88, SD = 22.2), all affiliated with a public university in northwestern Spain. Findings showed that female TRS explicitly self-identified as victims of sexual harassment and gender-based harassment within the university. Overall mean scores on the three SEQ subscales were low, yet women reported significantly higher levels of gender harassment and unwanted sexual attention. Female TRS also showed higher levels of technology-facilitated sexual harassment compared with their male counterparts. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that prior sexual victimization and technology-facilitated harassment were the strongest predictors across all SEQ dimensions. Unwanted sexual attention and TFSV predicted sexual coercion, whereas higher professional rank was associated with a reduced risk within this university. In conclusion, this public university requires well-disseminated and trusted protocols that explicitly address digital forms of sexual violence, alongside sustained preventive programs aimed at reducing revictimization.
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Why is it important?
This article is essential because it shifts the traditional focus of university research—usually centered on the student body—to analyze in a pioneering way the prevalence and predictors of sexual and gender-based harassment among teaching and research staff (TRS). The findings evidence that female professors and researchers experience significantly higher levels of gender harassment, unwanted sexual attention, and technology-facilitated sexual harassment than their male colleagues, further revealing that prior victimization and digital violence are the most powerful predictors of all forms of harassment. Likewise, the study demonstrates that the mere formal compliance of having institutional protocols is insufficient due to their low dissemination and perception of inefficacy, providing key empirical evidence for universities to redesign their policies, explicitly integrate digital sexual violence, and develop preventive programs against revictimization.
Perspectives
When we began this research, we were driven by the need to look beyond the usual focus on students and give a voice to teaching and research staff—a core yet frequently overlooked group in campus violence research. What surprised us most when processing the data was seeing how the digital environment—so-called technology-facilitated sexual violence—no longer acts in isolation, but instead dangerously intertwines with and amplifies traditional forms of harassment. Our strongest reflection after conducting this study is that the mere formal existence of a policy framework is not enough; educational institutions have an urgent responsibility to turn bureaucratic compliance into effective tools built on genuine trust, widespread dissemination, and active safeguards against revictimization.
Yolanda Rodríguez Castro
Universidade de Vigo
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Sexual Harassment and Gender-Based Harassment Among Teaching and Research Staff at a Public University in Northwestern Spain: Prevalence and Predictors, Behavioral Sciences, March 2026, MDPI AG,
DOI: 10.3390/bs16030466.
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