Healthcare students' exposure to sexual violence during clinical placements in Spain: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Data from international investigations indicate that gender-based violence is a phenomenon that also occurs in the university environment. Despite the fact that clinical learning environments have been widely studied, little attention has been paid to sexual violence in the clinical placement setting of Health Sciences students. Consequently, the aim of this study was to describe situations and/or behaviours of harassment, such as assault and/or sexual abuse experienced by the students of one university in Barcelona, Spain, during their clinical placements. A cross-sectional study was conducted using an ad-hoc online questionnaire. A convenience sample was used including bachelor's degree students as subjects during their clinical placements in the second half of 2022. A total of 156 responses were collected from the students of four degrees (Nursing, Physiotherapy, Nutrition and Dietetics and Pharmacy). Of the total results collected, 74.5% (117) corresponded to women and the remaining 25.5% (40) to men. 71.3% of students reported that they had experienced one (or more) of the 25 types of conduct described in the questionnaire at some time. The behaviours of social interaction with sexual content and sexual harassment in the placement setting showed that such behaviours were mostly experienced by women on the Nursing degree. In relation to the perpetrators of such behaviours, the respondents manifested that the greatest aggressor was a patient and that most of the aggression took place in hospitalisation units, rehabilitation centres and nursing homes. It is essential that academic institutions, in collaboration with health institutions, carry out joint actions, awareness-raising, identification and interventions, with students, professionals and teams from a culture of non-violence and the eradication of sexual harassment in academic placements.