El Acoso Sexual en el Contexto de una Institución de Educación Superior: Retos para Promover Entornos Libres de Violencia de Género

Background: Sexual harassment in the university environment was a problem until recently silenced and made invisible. Objective: To identify the frequency of sexual harassment experienced by students, teachers, administrators, and workers of a Higher Education Institution in Ecuador. Method: A descriptive-cross-sectional research was conducted in a non-probabilistic sample of voluntary subjects, 3731 students, 484 teachers and 376 administrative and employees of an Ecuadorian university. A previously validated sexual harassment survey was applied. Results: It was observed that, in the highest percentage, students are who had suffered sexual harassment at least once while studying at the university, corresponding to 26.5 %, followed by administrative and service employees with 18.9 %, and the teaching and academic support staff with 14.3%. In all strata of the university, most victims are women, and the different situations of sexual harassment were mostly carried out by peers, that is, among colleagues, fellow students, or co-workers. Conclusions: Higher education institutions have a great social responsibility and a great possibility not only to train professionals of excellence but also to train integral individuals that allow us to reverse the situation of gender-based violence and particularly sexual harassment in university spaces. Fundamentación: El acoso sexual en el ámbito universitario es un problema hasta hace poco silenciado e invisibilizado, sin embargo, en los últimos se han evidenciado denuncias de víctimas. Objetivo: identificar la frecuencia de acoso sexual vivenciada por estudiantes, docentes, administrativos y trabajadores de una Institución de Educación Superior del Ecuador. Método: Se realizó una investigación descriptiva - transversal, en una muestra no probabilística de sujetos voluntarios, 3731 estudiantes, 484 docentes y 376 administrativos y empleados de una universidad ecuatoriana. Se aplicó una encuesta de acoso sexual previamente validada. Resultados: Se observó que, en mayor porcentaje, los estudiantes son quienes han sufrido situaciones de acoso sexual alguna vez mientras estudiaba en la universidad, correspondiente a 26,5 %, le sigue el personal administrativo y de servicio con 18,9 % y en el personal docente y de apoyo a la academia 14,3 %. En todos los estamentos de la universidad, la mayor parte de víctimas son mujeres y las diferentes situaciones de acoso sexual fueron realizados mayoritariamente por sus pares: colegas, c