El sexismo como una manifestación de violencia de género: percepción de representantes estudiantiles de la Universidad de Cuenca del periodo lectivo septiembre 2019- febrero 2020

Abstract

Sexism is a manifestation of gender violence, through behaviors that discriminate and segregate women, but it is not visible as such, which allows normalization in everyday life. The general objective was to know how the student representatives of the University of Cuenca perceive sexism within the university space from the September 2019-February 2020 period. The approach was qualitative, cross-sectional and descriptive in scope. The participants were presidents of the school associations of the most numerous careers of each faculty and of the four general guilds of the University of Cuenca, a semi-structured interview was applied. Results: they perceive discriminatory and segregatory behaviors towards women, however, they are self-sufficient and capable of performing in any field and career. Benevolent sexism manifests itself in the need for protection, due to insecurity in physical spaces and uncomfortable situations in the classroom, the issue of motherhood as a limiting factor for full development within the university. Perceived hostile sexism is expressed in macho comments and sexual harassment. Discussion, gender violence in the university is normalized in comments, jokes and actions, violating women. It denotes that there is still a patriarchal system of beliefs based on gender roles. It is recommended to disseminate information to understand what gender violence is, how it manifests itself and effective prevention routes. Limitations, contact with student representatives, due to operational issues, access is not feasible.