Sexual Violence on University Campuses: Differences and Similarities in the Experiences of Students, Professors and Employees

Oct 15, 2026

Article examines sexual violence on university campuses (SVUC) across six Quebec universities in Canada, using data from the Enquête Sexualité, Sécurité et Interactions en Milieu Universitaire (ESSIMU). Findings report alarming SVUC prevalence among students (36.2%), professors (38.8%), and employees (38.7%). Results indicate perpetrators’ hierarchical status exceeds victims’ in notable shares of professor (33%) and employee (50.7%) cases. Desired support centers on assistance during reporting, information on internal remedies, and psychological support from external university resources.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

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Sexual Violence on University Campuses: Differences and Similarities in the Experiences of Students, Professorsand Employees Manon Bergeron Université du Québec à Montréal Marie-France Goyer Université du Québec à Montréal Martine Hébert Université du Québec à Montréal Sandrine Ricci Université du Québec à Montréal Abstract This article presents a portrait of sexual violence on university campuses (SVUC) at six universities in Québec (Canada) and explores differences and similarities in the experiences of students, professors and employees. Data are drawn from the Enquête Sexualité, Sécurité et Interactions en Milieu Universitaire (ESSIMU) . They reveal disturbing rates of SVUC among students (36 .2%), professors (38 .8%) and employees (38 .7%) . The results show that the hierarchical status of perpetrators was higher than that of victims for a significant proportion of professors (33%) and employees (50 .7%) . When asked about the type of assistance they would want in the event of SVUC, the majority of students, professors and employees affirmed they would want support during the reporting/complaint process, information about available recourse within the university to report the incident, and psychological support provided by a resource outside the university. Keywords: sexual harassment, sexual violence, university, campuses, prevention Résumé Cet article présente un portrait de la violence sexuelle en milieu universitaire (VSMU) sur six campus québécois (Canada) et explore les différences et les similitudes dans l’expérience des étudiant.es, des [enseignant.es](enseignant.es) et des employé .es. Les données proviennent de l’Enquête sur la sexualité, la sécurité et les interactions en milieu universitaire (ESSIMU) . Les résultats révèlent des taux inquiétants de VSMU chez les étudiant.es (36,2 %), les enseignant.es (38,8 %) et les employé .es (38,7 %) . Les données indiquent que le statut hiérarchique des personnes commettant les gestes de VSMU est supérieur à celui des victimes pour une proportion significative de professeur.es (33 %) et d’employé .es (50,7 %) . Sur la question du type d’aide souhaité en cas de VSMU, la majorité des étudiant.es, [enseignant.es](enseignant.es) et employé .es a affirmé souhaiter un accompagnement dans les démarches de dénonciation ou de plainte, des informations sur les recours possibles pour dénoncer les gestes à l’intérieur del’université ainsi qu’un soutien psychologique à l’extérieur de l’université . Mots-clés : harcèlement sexuel, violence sexuelle, université, campus, prévention Introduction In Canada and elsewhere, many incidents of sexual violence on university campuses (SVUC) and legal actions taken against universities by survivors have attracted media attention in recent years (Quinlan, E. , Quinlan, A. , Fogel & Taylor, 2017) . Examples of such incidents include the Saint Mary's University students who chanted slogans celebrating rape culture during initiation week (Tutton, 2013), the sexist, misogynist, and violent messages posted on Facebook by dentistry students at Dalhousie University (Taber, 2014), the sexual assault involving members of the University of Ottawa hockey team (Bradshaw, 2014), the female Université du Québec à Montréal student who was sexually harassed by a professor who, despite the university’s formal recognition of the incident, received no sanctions (Elkouri, 2015), and, in the fall of 2016, the series of sexual assaults in a Université Laval student residence (Cloutier, 2016) . Despite growing political and public concern over the last few years, sexual violence in universities is not a new phenomenon. In the United States, feminist students’organizing efforts contributed in part to the adoption in 1972 of Title IX of the Education Amendments, legislation that forced institutions to deal seriously with female Canadian Journal of Higher Education | Revue canadienne d’enseignement supérieur 49:3 (2019) students' reports of

FAQs

What does the study examine about sexual violence on campuses?

The study portraits sexual violence on university campuses (SVUC) at six Quebec universities and compares differences and similarities in students’, professors’, and employees’ experiences.

What are the reported prevalence rates for SVUC in the study?

The article reports SVUC rates among students (36.2%), professors (38.8%), and employees (38.7%).

What types of help do students, professors, and employees say they would want after SVUC?

Most respondents want support during reporting/complaint processes, information on university recourse options, and psychological support from resources outside the university.

Oct 15, 2026

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