Every tenth student has experienced sexualized violence at an Austrian university in the last 12 months. The results of the ÖH survey on sexualized violence at universities show this and more.
Every tenth student has experienced sexualized violence at an Austrian university in the last 12 months. The results of the ÖH survey on sexualized violence at universities show this and more.
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The results of the survey can be viewed here:
Press Kit ÖH Survey Sexualized Violence at Universities
On November 25, the international day against patriarchal violence, the federal representation of the Austrian National Union of Students (ÖH) presents dramatic figures on the topic of sexualized violence at Austrian universities [1]. In a representative study among all 380,000 students in Austria (n = 10,194 [2]), a nationwide survey was conducted for the first time to find out what experiences students have had with sexualized violence at their universities in the last 12 months. Keya Baier from the ÖH chairmanship team on the intention of the survey: “Unfortunately, sexualized violence is firmly anchored in our society and does not stop at universities. With this survey, we create for the first time a data base that shows us how sexualized violence takes place in the university context and consequently gives us a basis to take measures against sexualized violence. And this was sorely needed: every 10th student has experienced sexualized violence at university in the last 12 months. The universities are now challenged to act!”
11.57% of all students surveyed, or 1179 people, were sexually harassed under Section 6 of the Equal Treatment Act (GlGB). To do this, the behavior must 1. Have been undesirable, 2. violates the dignity of the person and 3. have interfered with the study. Furthermore, the survey asked whether there had been any unwanted sexual touching. 2.4% of all respondents were affected. That is 244 people. As a third form of sexualized violence, criminal acts against sexual integrity and self-determination (§201 – §205a of the Criminal Code) were asked about. This affected 0.5% of all students surveyed, or 53 people. “These figures are shocking, but not surprising. They make it clear that sexualized violence is unfortunately also part of everyday life at our universities, and to an alarmingly high degree. If we extrapolate the figures from the survey, we see that there are almost 44,000 cases of sexualized violence per year from the three categories surveyed. This must now be tackled with rapid steps – because every single assault, is one assault too many! “Sara Velić from the ÖH chairmanship team commented on the results.
More than 80% of all incidents experienced were not reported to a responsible agency. The number of unreported cases is therefore enormous when it comes to sexualized violence against students at Austrian universities. When cases are reported, victims are often dissatisfied with the support offered, which is why more resources need to be put into this area. The consequences for victims of sexualized violence are dramatic. Approximately 22% of all students who experience sexual harassment develop post-traumatic stress disorder. For unwanted sexual acts, the figure is as high as 63%. In addition to the massive personal consequences, these students avoid college and in some cases drop out.
The results of the survey show that there is a need for measures to directly support those affected as well as preventive steps against it. Boryana Badinska from the ÖH chairmanship team therefore demands: “Measures are needed such as awareness training for teachers that is anchored in service law, comprehensive protection for those affected and independent contact points at all universities. In addition, we want to work together with all existing university offices to develop guidelines and concrete instructions on how best to take action against sexualized violence at universities.”
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[1]This means that sexualized violence has taken place on the premises and/or by a person in connection with an Austrian university.
[2]These are fully completed and usable questionnaires. In total, the questionnaire was accessed 16,309 times.
