Resistances and counter-resistances to Protocols Against Sexual Harassment in Spanish Universities: The Case of the Complutense University of Madrid.

This paper aims at understanding the intricate dynamics involving resisting and promoting actors involved in the processes of defining, formulating, designing, and implementing protocols against sexual and sexist harassment at the Complutense University of Madrid (Spain). While conventional definitions of sexual and sexist harassment are often adopted from a power-centric perspective, situating it within the work environment or constraining it as a form of violence exclusively against women, this paper adopts an intersectional approach which acknowledges that, while women remain the primary victims, the issue is interwoven with other structural barriers or inequalities such as race, social class, religion, and sexual orientation and identity. This contribution aligns with post-structuralist analyses of public policy, feminist institutionalism studies, and the associated agenda-setting processes, offering nuanced insights into the roles played by promoting actors and their strategic initiatives to counter resistances and work towards the eradication of sexual and sexist harassment in university settings. The case study of Complutense University of Madrid adheres to a purposive strategy sampling based on variables encompassing university type, size, region, year of protocol adoption, the presence of “puntos violeta” (gender-based violence safe spaces), and affiliation with Spain’s Network of Equality Units for University Excellence (RUIGEU). The university’s sexual and sexist harassment protocol will be analysed in relation to its policy definition, formulation, design, and implementation, using the Atlas.Ti software. Aligning with the dimensions of the UniSafe research project, the methodological strategy also incorporates 15 semi-structured interviews with diverse actors involved in the various protocol stages. The application of our analytical framework to this case study enables the identification of distinct forms of resistance and their associated discursive strategies. This endeavour provides promoting actors with nuanced insights conductive to the eradication of this manifestation of violence within the university sphere.