"Nobody says anything": Students' perception of university sexual harassment in Ecuador

Sexual harassment is a daily phenomenon that is currently attracting considerable attention in Ecuador both because of denunciations by the feminist movement and because of its greater visibility in the media. The objective of this article is to identify the subjective perception of Ecuadorian university students about sexual harassment in higher education institutions. Specifically, we are interested in understanding the cultural particularities that may limit the effectiveness of strategies aimed at preventing the problem in this context. To obtain data, we conducted interviews with 63 students between 18 and 23 years of age enrolled in a private university located in Quito. The results obtained show that sexual harassment is perceived to be less present in the university context than in other public spaces. The student body shows a critical attitude regarding the normalization of this problem in the country and the lack of information on sexuality, harassment, and sexual violence. However, they adopt a passive attitude towards it in accordance with the social attitude they observe. In addition, the results indicate that sexual harassment affects women and LGTBI people significantly more.