Sexual Harassment in Higher Education Students

Sexual harassment, globally recognized as a complex phenomenon, presents gaps regarding its characteristics and diversity of impacts, particularly in the Portuguese context. This study aims to better understand sexual harassment in Portuguese universities, namely the prevalence of these experiences, their types, perpetrators, and settings, as well as the psychosocial factors associated with them, specifically distress, intrusive negative thoughts, academic engagement, and resilience. Positive correlations were found between unwanted sexual experiences, distress, intrusive negative thoughts, and academic engagement. These findings highlight the need for more effective policies to prevent sexual harassment and for psychological support programs for victims of sexual harassment.