Scientific Articles

Serradell, O., & Puigvert, L. (2025). Overcoming Sexual Harassment at University: The Case of the Training Intervention in the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Behavioral Sciences, 15(5), 596. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15050596 

Explanation of the Post

Both academic and non-academic staff, including upstanders from diverse disciplines, can serve as trainers and share the actions they are undertaking. This demonstrates that bystander intervention can take many forms, and that everyone can contribute to prevention when activities are grounded in scientific evidence of social impact. These activities include conferences with survivors, exhibitions presenting scientific findings, and the integration of new concepts into school or faculty policies to address and prevent isolating gender violence.

There is a persistent misconception that only gender experts can serve as trainers. However, upstanders exist across all academic disciplines, and they need to be visible to both staff and students—as supporters, role models, and trusted individuals to whom others can turn when facing a problem, and who will intervene to protect victims. The training conducted at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, based on scientific evidence to prevent gender-based violence in higher education institutions (Serradell & Puigvert, 2025), highlights the importance of the interdisciplinary nature of the academic fields involved in achieving social impact.

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