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POLICY BRIEF article

Front. Sociol.

Sec. Gender, Sex and Sexualities

Restoring a sense of safety among survivors of sexual harassment in higher education: policy recommendations from the UNI4EQUITY multinational study

Provisionally accepted
Sylwia JaskulskaSylwia Jaskulska1*Barbara JankowiakBarbara Jankowiak1Vanesa Pérez-MartínezVanesa Pérez-Martínez2Stefano PorruStefano Porru3Angela CartaAngela Carta3Marlies WallnerMarlies Wallner4Viktoria StifterViktoria Stifter4Iwetta AndruszkiewiczIwetta Andruszkiewicz1Katarzyna WaszyńskaKatarzyna Waszyńska1Aitana Muñoz-HabaAitana Muñoz-Haba5José Miguel CarrascoJosé Miguel Carrasco5Carmen Vives-CasesCarmen Vives-Cases2,6
  • 1Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland
  • 2Universitat d'Alacant, Sant Vicent del Raspeig, Spain
  • 3Universita degli Studi di Verona, Verona, Italy
  • 4Hochschule fur Angewandte Wissenschaften Burgenland GmbH, Eisenstadt, Austria
  • 5Aplica Cooperative, Madrid, Spain
  • 6CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health, Madrid, Spain

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Sexual harassment 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 response, including awareness-raising, transparent governance, accessible support services, clear reporting mechanisms, and survivor protection to promote safety, trust, and institutional accountability.

Keywords: higher education, Institutional trust, restoring a sense of safety, Sexual Harassment, university climate

Received: 16 Jan 2026; Accepted: 09 Feb 2026.

Copyright: © 2026 Jaskulska, Jankowiak, Pérez-Martínez, Porru, Carta, Wallner, Stifter, Andruszkiewicz, Waszyńska, Muñoz-Haba, Carrasco and Vives-Cases. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Sylwia Jaskulska

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary Material