Violence experienced in higher education

This paper presents the main results of the Virage-universités surveys carried out among students enrolled in four universities partnered with INED (Université Paris 1 – Panthéon-Sorbonne;, Université Paris – Diderot and Institut de physique du globe de Paris;, Université de Strasbourg; and Université de Bretagne occidentale). Complementary to the Virage survey conducted by phone among general population, these surveys aimed to explore the forms, contexts, and consequences of violence experienced in higher education. . More than 120,000 students were asked to answer the survey on the Internet. Of these, 6,648 students responded and 1,882 students reported at least one incident (1,441 women and 441 men). Reports of violence appear to be relatively high in universities: about one-third of women and one-quarter of men reported at least one incident. Two main types of violence are reported: psychological and sexual, with or without contact or penetration. Whether psychological or sexual, violence has adverse effects on students’ trajectories. Those who are still studying, whom we have been able to investigate, have, for example, changed their course of study or establishment. Students affected by violence talk about it to their friends or relatives, but do not initiate proceedings within the establishments even though the facts reported are considered as serious.