Measures of Gender-based Violence Under Revision: A Mapping of Existing Measures of Gender-based Violence, its Determinants and Consequences in Higher Education and Research Environments

Despite the growing interest in gender-based violence in academia, it is an under-developed field of knowledge and policymaking in the European Research Area (SWG GRI 2020). Gender-based violence is a complex, persistent feature and force, often unspoken, of many organisations, including universities and research organisations (Hearn & Parkin 2001; Latcheva 2017). It includes physical, psychological, economic, sexual and online forms of violence, violations, and harassment and has serious, sometimes deadly, consequences (WHO 2013; UN 2017). Until now, it continues to be difficult to analyse the size of the problem in the context of higher education and research environments, due to a dearth of evidence on the prevalence of gender-based violence. To address this knowledge gap, we conduct an online survey among all staff and students in over 45 universities and research organisations in 15 European countries within the framework of the Horizon 2020-funded project UniSAFE. The survey is the largest of its kind in Europe in the research sector. It is particularly interested in capturing gendered experiences, including the intersections of different factors such as sexual orientation, age, ethnicity and international mobility, which may exacerbate exposure to the risk of violence. The measurements of the survey are based on a mapping of existing data, items, and indicators from a variety of different sources based on EU and other international data collections on gender-based violence, statistical data and survey data from national and cross-national survey projects (e.g. FRA’s EU-wide Survey on Violence against Women). Following a literature review, we evaluated 10 questionnaires. All questionnaires in our analysis cover the topical scope of gender-based violence or sexual harassment, include closed-ended questions and have potential for re-use in different national settings. Some of them also reflect the specific context of higher education. In addition, we analysed measurement instruments which operationalise determinants and consequences of gender-based violence, e.g., instruments measuring gender beliefs, perception of violence, mental and physical well-being, and job/study satisfaction. Taking a feminist perspective on the measurement of gender-based violence, our paper shows how different forms of gender-based violence are operationalised in empirical data collections. We also show how different conceptualisations and subsequently created evidence on ‘violence’, ‘gender’, and the connection between these two and other factors, shape how we think and talk about the prevalence of violence in higher education and research environments. Our paper contributes to reflecting on the knowledge base on gender-based violence in academia by providing a detailed overview on how existing measurements of different forms of gender-based violence, its determinants and consequences have been operationalised in surveys and how the subject of interest is measured in the large-scale, international survey of the UniSAFE project.