Sexual harassment (SH) is a global public health concern that remains widespread in higher education, affecting individuals, groups, and institutions. This study, based on the UNI4EQUITY multinational survey involving 7,563 participants from six European universities, offers policy recommendations aimed at enhancing institutional safety for survivors. The results indicate a 37% prevalence of SH, occurring both offline and online. Among individuals with SH experience, women, LGB persons, and those aged 25–39 report lower perceptions of university safety. Trust in institutional support networks is positively associated with perceived safety, whereas reporting SH is linked to decreased feelings of safety. These findings highlight the need for a multi-level, systemic response, including awareness-raising, transparent governance, accessible support services, clear reporting mechanisms, and effective survivor protection to promote safety, trust, and institutional accountability.

Sexuelle Belästigung im Hochschulkontext ist ein weit verbreitetes, jedoch oft nicht gemeldetes Problem. Das EU-geförderte Forschungsprojekt Uni4Equity untersucht, wie Hochschulen ihre Strukturen, Präventionsmaßnahmen und Reaktionsmechanismen verbessern können, um sexuelle Belästigung effektiver zu erkennen, zu erfassen und ihr entgegenzuwirken. Dieser Beitrag präsentiert die ersten Forschungsergebnisse der initialen Projektphase an der Hochschule Burgenland und stellt darauf aufbauend Handlungsempfehlungen für Hochschulen vor. Neben der Verbesserung von Meldeprozessen und einer verstärkten Sichtbarmachung von Ansprechpersonen ist die Implementierung gezielter Schulungen für Studierende und Mitarbeitende essenziell. Erste Maßnahmen innerhalb des Projekts Uni4Equity zeigen, dass Sensibilisierung und strukturelle Anpassungen das Bewusstsein und die Handlungsmöglichkeiten der Mitglieder der teilnehmenden Hochschulen bereits positiv beeinflussen konnten. Dennoch bleiben langfristige Herausforderungen bestehen, insbesondere in Hinblick auf die nachhaltige Verankerung einer „Culture of Care“.

Preventing online and offline sexual harassment (SH) is a public health priority, due to its worldwide magnitude and short- and long-term consequences to the victims and survivors. Universities are environments that may facilitate different forms of conflicts, including SH, but they also play a key role in preventing and addressing them. This paper describes ‘Uni4Equity’, a European project funded by the CERV-2022-DAPHNE Programme of the European Union (Ref. 101094121-Uni4Equity) aimed to reinforce universities’ readiness to identify, map and respond to online and offline SH at workplace and other relevant settings (classrooms, digital space), with an explicit (but not exclusive) focus on minority social groups. More specifically, the project will address the research needs of conducting multidimensional diagnosis of SH at universities (scale and determinants) as a basis for preventive actions; assessing the effectiveness of preventive interventions such as social media campaigns and training workshops; creating a university culture that actively rejects SH; improving access to existing support services; and contributing to the acknowledgement of universities as an asset in preventing this issue.