Preventing gender-based violence and sexual harassment in academia: from the international landscape to the Italian reality

This doctoral dissertation adopts a preventive perspective to explore the issues of gender-based violence (GBV) and sexual harassment (SH) in academia. By reconstructing the main international legal and theoretical frameworks, the aim is to assess their effective transposition in the Italian university context, highlighting areas for improvement. The interdisciplinary analysis, which combines law, psychology, and criminology, is useful for understanding whether and which evidence-based strategies and measures can be useful in bringing about a real transformative impact on academic culture. The theoretical and regulatory framework in Chapter I serves to define issues of GBV and SH, through the analysis of the main international protection instruments (CEDAW, DEVAW, Istanbul Convention), as well as the most recent Italian reforms, such as the Red Code. Moreover, the 7P Model (Prevalence, Prevention, Protection, Prosecution, Provision of services, Partnerships, Policies) is proposed as a valuable interpretative key for evaluating institutional responses. Then, Chapter II provides a systematic review (PRISMA) of the most recent international literature on the prevention of SH in academia, analyzing two main categories: 1. empirical studies on risk factors and 2. preventive interventions, shedding light on strengths and weaknesses. In Chapter III, the lens of prevention science is adopted to outline principles for effective prevention, proposing an operational framework for structuring promising measures and interventions in universities. Particular attention is paid to bystander training (e.g., Green Dot and Bring In the Bystander), as one of the most widely used evidence-based programs for the prevention of GBV and SH in academic settings and beyond. In Chapter IV, the analysis shifts to the Italian context with a qualitative study consisting of interviews with key experts on GBV prevention in universities, in order to map the measures currently in place in the Italian academic context. Overall, a developing picture emerges, with some institutions active and having implemented interesting initiatives, while others are still lagging in addressing GBV. The analysis concludes with Chapter V, which explores the victims’ point of view, with a specific focus on the issue of SH reporting (formal and informal) in academia. Through a narrative approach, the experiences of the real protagonists of these events are given a voice, with the aim of understanding the coping strategies, protective factors, and any barriers that characterize the reporting process. This is useful for verifying whether, beyond their existence, the resources and services currently available in Italian universities are perceived as effective and protective. Overall, in this brief but multifaceted analysis, Italy appears to be active in the prevention of GBV and SH in academia, although there is still work to be done to bring it into line with international standards of effectiveness. Certainly, a profound cultural change, leading to the conception of GBV as a community issue in which each of us can play our part, is an essential condition for prevention to become an integral part of the quality and integrity of the university environment.