“Distressing”, “deplorable”, alarming: the National Association of Pharmacy Students (Anepf) does not lack adjectives to describe the results of its investigation into gender-based and sexual violence within the curriculum. Nearly half of female students report harassment and a quarter of them say they have been sexually assaulted during their studies.
These data, obtained between November and December 2021, from 2,103 pharmacy students, were presented at a press conference on Wednesday February 2. They show that female students are twice as affected by this kind of violence as their male counterparts.
#StudySansAgressions |ANEPF proposals to fight against #VSS presented with @doyenspharma
Proposals to improve the #training from #students and associations on this subject, improve support for #victimsallow a #report in real time
— Pharma_ANEPF (@Pharma_ANEPF) February 2, 2022
In detail, more than one future pharmacist in two (55%) has already been the subject of sexist remarks, from classmates but also from teachers. Comments are quoted on the place of women “in the kitchen”, the use of the morning after pill or abortion.
48% of female pharmacy students testify to harassment, again from students and teachers. Some say they received “inappropriate messages” or even “hair caresses” during class. Finally, more than one in four (27%) has been the victim of sexual assault, mainly during student parties.
Harassed even in pharmacies
Théo Vitrolles, spokesperson for Anepf, is also surprised to see that a third of future pharmacists say they are harassed in pharmacies, where “we honestly did not expect to find this kind of violence” , according to him. Unfortunately, the results recorded at the hospital, although shocking (28% of female students harassed), only corroborate those obtained during a previous study, carried out in early 2020 by the Association of Medical Students (Anemf).
For Théo Vitrolles, this confirms that “this violence is more widespread in the health sector than in other university courses”. To explain this worrying trend, the Anepf evokes the weight of “traditions” and a “mimicry effect” favored by learning “in a vacuum”.
During the press conference on February 2, the members of the association underlined the double pain suffered by the victims, namely “the direct violence” of these acts associated with their “impunity”. Thirteen proposals were made with a view to curbing the phenomenon. They aim to “improve the training of students and associations on this subject”, “support the victims” and “allow real-time reporting”.