Abstract

Introduction

The university, a form of unification of medieval culture, throughout history has changed its relationship with the State and functions¹1 Plencovich M, Quadrelli S, Bogosián C, Picco-Plencovich P, Berbara R, Delgadillo Macías J, et al. Algunos atributos de la autonomía universitaria en la Argentina, Brasil y México: otra vuelta de tuerca. Debate Univ CAEE-UAI. 2015; 4(7):69-86.. According to the Constitution²2 Brasil. Constituição da República Federativa do Brasil de 1988. Brasília: Senado Federal; 1988., the Brazilian University is an autonomous institution, where teaching, research and extension are inseparable, and where access is given “according to the capability of each individual”²2 Brasil. Constituição da República Federativa do Brasil de 1988. Brasília: Senado Federal; 1988..

In the Brazilian context, 72.6% of the population cannot even complete high school, and only 17.4% complete higher education³3 Brasil. Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística -IBGE. PNAD Educação 2019: Mais da metade das pessoas de 25 anos ou mais não completaram o ensino médio [Internet]. Rio de Janeiro: IBGE; 2020 [citado 20 Nov 21]. Disponível em: https://agenciadenoticias.ibge.gov.br/agencia-sala-de-imprensa/2013-agencia-de-noticias/releases/28285-pnad-educacao-2019-mais-da-metade-das-pessoas-de-25-anos-ou-mais-nao-completaram-o-ensino-medio
https://agenciadenoticias.ibge.gov.br/ag... . Thus, the university is occupied by an elite portion of the population.

New policies have been proposed to change this scenario: social and racial affirmative actions in public universities⁴4 Brasil. Lei nº 12.711, de 29 de Agosto de 2012. Dispõe sobre o ingresso nas universidades federais e nas instituições federais de ensino técnico de nível médio e dá outras providências. Diário Oficial da União. 29 Ago 2012. and funding programs in private universities⁵5 Brasil. Lei nº 11.096, de 13 de Janeiro de 2005. Institui o Programa Universidade para Todos - PROUNI, regula a atuação de entidades beneficentes de assistência social no ensino superior; altera a Lei nº 10.891, de 9 de Julho de 2004, e dá outras providências. Diário Oficial da União. 13 Jan 2005.. Although these changes are ongoing, the elitist culture remains, and some say that the presence of this new part of society will bring new conflicts and violence⁶6 Meneghel SN. Será a universidade imune às discriminações sociais? Interface (Botucatu). 2019; 23:e190577. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1590/Interface.190577.
https://doi.org/10.1590/Interface.190577... .

In fact, in times of “academic capitalism”, under pressure from the Global University Rankings, everything becomes a commodity⁷7 Reverter-Bañón S. La igualdad de género en la universidad. Capitalismo académico y rankings globales. Rev Investig Fem. 2021; 12(2):271-81., and the “Performing Neoliberal University”⁸8 Ferreira V, Vieira CC, Lopes M, Santos CC. Pandemia e academia em casa: efeitos no ensino, na investigação e na cidadania académica sob uma perspectiva de género. Coimbra: Editora Centro de Estudos Sociais-UC/ Colégio de S. Jerónimo; 2021. reinforces meritocracy, and “excellence”⁸8 Ferreira V, Vieira CC, Lopes M, Santos CC. Pandemia e academia em casa: efeitos no ensino, na investigação e na cidadania académica sob uma perspectiva de género. Coimbra: Editora Centro de Estudos Sociais-UC/ Colégio de S. Jerónimo; 2021. translates into commodification where ideas are treated as “product”⁸8 Ferreira V, Vieira CC, Lopes M, Santos CC. Pandemia e academia em casa: efeitos no ensino, na investigação e na cidadania académica sob uma perspectiva de género. Coimbra: Editora Centro de Estudos Sociais-UC/ Colégio de S. Jerónimo; 2021.. In this context, competition increases and historically discriminated groups, whose access to university has recently increased, are subject even more to discrimination and violence.

In Brazil, university violence gained visibility in 2014 from complaints made to the Legislative Assembly of the State of São Paulo that resulted in the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) to investigate human rights violations in São Paulo universities. Its final report blamed universities for the different forms of identified violence⁹9 São Paulo (Estado). Relatório da Comissão Parlamentar de Inquérito, para investigar violações dos Direitos Humanos e demais ilegalidades ocorridas no âmbito das Universidades do Estado de São Paulo ocorridas nos chamados “trotes”, festas e no seu cotidiano. São Paulo: Assembleia Legislativa; 2015., and Law 15,892/2015¹⁰10 São Paulo (Estado). Lei nº 15.892, de 15 de Setembro de 2015. Proíbe o trote nas escolas da rede pública em qualquer nível de ensino. São Paulo: Assembleia Legislativa; 2015. was enacted, which prohibits hazing rituals in state schools.

Brazilian universities are called upon to face every day interpersonal violence (IPV), especially gender-based violence (GBV), which is all pervading in the CPI report. There are examples of confrontation in the implicated universities in São Paulo¹¹11 Universidade Estadual Paulista - Unesp. Educando para a diversidade. Guia de prevenção assédio [Internet]. São Paulo: Ouvidoria Geral; 2020 [citado 20 Fev 22]. Disponível em: https://www.foar.unesp.br/Modulos/Noticias/234/guia_prevencao_assedio.pdf
https://www.foar.unesp.br/Modulos/Notici...

12 São Paulo (Estado). Resolução GR-017/2019, de 03 de Abril de 2019. Dispõe sobre a criação da Comissão Assessora da Política de Combate à Discriminação Baseada em Gênero e/ou Sexualidade e à Violência Sexual e o Serviço de Atenção à Violência Sexual na Universidade Estadual de Campinas. São Paulo: Assembleia Legislativa; 2019.

13 Pimentel S, Campilongo C. Diretrizes Sobre Assédio Moral, Sexual, Discriminação e Desigualdade na Faculdade de Direito da PUC/SP. São Paulo: PUC/SP; 2015.^-1414 Universidade de São Paulo - USP. Portaria GR nº 6766, de 10de Agosto de 2016. Dispõe sobre o Escritório USP Mulheres. Normas USP [Internet]. São Paulo: USP; 2016 [citado 20 Fev 22]. Disponível em: http://www.leginf.usp.br/?portaria=portaria-gr-6766-de-10-de-agosto-de-2016
http://www.leginf.usp.br/?portaria=porta... .

At the University of São Paulo (USP) policies were established to combat GBV after pressure from a movement of professors/researchers, resulting in the creation of the Não Cala (Not be silent) Network. As an official response, the USP Women’s Office was created, directly linked to the Rectory¹⁵15 Universidade de São Paulo - USP. Escritório USP Mulheres. Relatório de Atividades 2016-2017 [Internet]. São Paulo: USP; 2017 [citado 20 Fev 22]. Disponível em: http://uspmulheres.usp.br/wp-content/uploads/sites/145/2016/05/Relat%C3%B3rio-de-Atividades-2016-2017.pdf
http://uspmulheres.usp.br/wp-content/upl... . This context of mobilization also resulted in the creation of special commissions to deal with violence and currently USP has 33 of them¹⁵15 Universidade de São Paulo - USP. Escritório USP Mulheres. Relatório de Atividades 2016-2017 [Internet]. São Paulo: USP; 2017 [citado 20 Fev 22]. Disponível em: http://uspmulheres.usp.br/wp-content/uploads/sites/145/2016/05/Relat%C3%B3rio-de-Atividades-2016-2017.pdf
http://uspmulheres.usp.br/wp-content/upl... .

Finding out about the occurrences and dimensions of IPV was the objective of the “Interactions at USP Research”¹⁶16 Blay EA, Venturi G, Santos PK, Pasinato W, Alves LP, Capocchi E. Pesquisa interações na USP: primeiros resultados da pesquisa [Internet]. São Paulo: USP; 2018 [citado 20 Fev 22]. Disponível em: http://uspmulheres.usp.br/pesquisa-interacoes-na-usp/
http://uspmulheres.usp.br/pesquisa-inter... . Results showed that 39% of the students responded that they had been victims of some type of violence at the university, with 26% reporting moral violence, 7% sexual and 3% physical.

Violence is defined as “the use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community that results in or is likely to result in suffering, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation”¹⁷17 Dahlberg LL, Krug EG. Violência: um problema global de saúde pública. Cienc Saude Colet. 2006; 11 Suppl:1163-78. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-81232006000500007.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-8123200600... (p. 1165). The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies IPV into two categories¹⁷17 Dahlberg LL, Krug EG. Violência: um problema global de saúde pública. Cienc Saude Colet. 2006; 11 Suppl:1163-78. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-81232006000500007.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-8123200600... : violence in the family/with intimate partners and violence in the community, between people who may or may not know each other. By recognizing violence as a public health problem, the WHO draws attention to the consequences of violence for all those involved¹⁷17 Dahlberg LL, Krug EG. Violência: um problema global de saúde pública. Cienc Saude Colet. 2006; 11 Suppl:1163-78. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-81232006000500007.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-8123200600... .

Our study addresses community IPV, which took place at the university. This work describes and discusses the types of IPV present on a campus, according to the perception of key informants.

In Brazil, studies on IPV in the university environment are not frequent¹⁸18 Belini DMG. Violência contra mulheres nas universidades: contribuições da produção científica para sua superação (Scielo e Web of Science 2016 e 2017). [Internet]. São Carlos: UFSCar; 2018 [citado 7 Mar 2022]. Disponível em: https://repositorio.ufscar.br/handle/ufscar/9942
https://repositorio.ufscar.br/handle/ufs... , although the literature¹⁹19 Matos APSM, Jesus SN, Simões HMR, Nave FJGM. Escala para avaliação das situações de bullying nas praxes do ensino superior. Meta Aval. 2010; 2(5):250-61.

20 Santos L, Almeida LS. Vivências acadêmicas e rendimento escolar: estudo com alunos universitários do 1º ano. Anal Psicol. 2011; 2(19):205-17.^-2121 Panúncio-Pinto MP, Alpes MF, Colares MFA. situações de violência interpessoal/bullying na universidade: recortes do cotidiano acadêmico de estudantes da área da saúde. Rev Bras Educ Med. 2019; 43(1):547-56. points to the fact that university violence is among the causes of maladjustment and academic failure, affecting mental health and student retention. A study of its types expands the understanding of the phenomenon, helping the university to establish policies to face this problem.

Method

This is a qualitative, descriptive-exploratory study. The meaning of social experiences and their interpretation, as well as social interactions and behaviors, characterize qualitative research, from the participants’ point of view²²22 Pope C, Mays N. Qualitative research in health care: assessing quality in qualitative research. BMJ Clin Res. 1999; 320(7226):50-2..

Four key informants, identified from their role of representing, researching or attending to cases of violence were invited to participate and then, with the support of the snowball technique, other participants were recommended and invited to the interview. With the exception of one person, all participants accepted the invitation. The qualitative interview, with a semi-structured script, included new questions depending on the narratives presented by the participant²²22 Pope C, Mays N. Qualitative research in health care: assessing quality in qualitative research. BMJ Clin Res. 1999; 320(7226):50-2..

Universe and Participants

This study was carried out on a campus consisting of eight faculties, 919 professors, 1,642 non-teaching staff, 6,703 undergraduate students, distributed among 43 courses; and 4,442 graduate students, distributed among 62 master’s and 49 doctoral programs²³23 Universidade de São Paulo - USP. Anuário estatístico da USP – 2019 [Internet]. São Paulo: USP; 2019 [citado 7 Mar 2022]. Disponível em: https://uspdigital.usp.br/anuario/br/acervo/AnuarioUSP_2019.pdf
https://uspdigital.usp.br/anuario/br/ace... .

The 17 participants had an institutional link with six faculties and the administration of the campus, with students, professors and employees considered key informants, due to their roles played in the community: managers, representatives of their peers; researchers on the topic, participants in human rights commissions, course coordinators or other positions that positioned them in situations of facing IPV. Since the university community of this campus is relatively small, we chose not to mention the unit of origin of the participants, to preserve confidentiality.

The closing of the sample used the criterion of “power of information”, from the objective of the study, the specificity of the sample, use of the established theory, quality of dialogue obtained in data collection, and strategic analysis²⁴24 Malterud K, Siersma VD, Guassora AD. Sample size in qualitative interview studies: guided by information power. Qual Health Res. 2016; 26(13):1753-60..

Procedures

The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee, the interviews were carried out from 10/05/2019 to 13/11/2019, and recorded and transcribed in full.

Content analysis²⁵25 Michelat G. Sobre a utilização da entrevista não-diretiva em sociologia. In: Thiollent M. Crítica metodológica, investigação social e enquete operária. São Paulo: Polis; 1981. p. 191-211.^,2626 Minayo MCS. O desafio do conhecimento: pesquisa qualitativa em saúde. 8a ed. São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro: Hucitec, Abrasco; 2004. was used to identify thematic categories, with a deductive approach. The content was identified by the use of codes or keywords for reading, based on the objectives of the study, as well as new perspectives that emerged from the analyzed material²⁷27 Berg B. Content analysis. In: Berg B. Qualitative research methods for the social sciences. Boston: Allyn & Bacon; 1998. p. 233-52.^,2828 Shepherd SK, Achterberg CL. Qualitative research methodology: data collection, analysis, interpretation, and verification. In: Monsen ER. Research: successful approaches. Chicago: American Dietetic Association; 1992; p. 82-8..

The analysis followed three steps: data reduction, its spatial display and interpretation, based on the objectives of identifying and describing types of violence.

Results and discussion

The characteristics of the participants are presented in Table 1. There is a great diversity of age, gender, race/color, sexual orientation, and factors that can influence the perception of IPV²⁹29 Crenshaw K. Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex; a black feminist critique discrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. Chicago: University of Chicago Legal Forum; 1989. p. 139-67.. The people included in the study are identified as Participants from 1 to 17, they are put into chronological order of participation and their faculties are numbered.

The violence recurrently narrated by the participants is presented: Hazing; Violence based on gender and race; Moral harassment and institutional violence. Sexual violence has been addressed in another publication³⁰30 Maito DC, Panuncio-Pinto MP, Vieira EM. Violence against women at the university: sexual violence highlighted. J Sex Med. 2021; 5(1):1068..

Hazing

Hazing rituals have their roots going back to Medieval Europe when universities were occupied only by noble people. They are entrance or initiation rituals, aimed at maintaining the hierarchy between groups. Traditionally, popular courses have more violent hazing rituals³¹31 Lima MCP. Sobre trote, vampiros e relacionamento humano nas escolas médicas. Rev Bras Educ Med. 2012; 36(3):407-13..

Students approached in this study mention hazing from a hierarchy perspective. There is a belief that students who started before (veterans) have power over new entrants (freshmen):

Not participating in hazing rituals can result in exclusion from the group, and integration and a sense of belonging are very important for new students³¹31 Lima MCP. Sobre trote, vampiros e relacionamento humano nas escolas médicas. Rev Bras Educ Med. 2012; 36(3):407-13.:

Although there is no direct punishment for those who refuse to participate in the hazing rituals, not participating means being excluded from student activities. It was reported that often during hazing there is coercion to drink alcohol, which increases people’s vulnerability to suffering violence.

Hazing rituals involve psychological, physical and sexual violence¹⁷17 Dahlberg LL, Krug EG. Violência: um problema global de saúde pública. Cienc Saude Colet. 2006; 11 Suppl:1163-78. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-81232006000500007.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-8123200600... . In the literature on IPV in university health related courses, hazing was classified as physical abuse (punching, slapping, pushing)³²32 Teixeira MCB, Dias MC, Ribeiro CDM. Entre espelhos: a formação em saúde e sua produção de violência. Rev ABENO. 2018; 18(2):156-65.. Seeking to understand the concept of violence and its experience among health students, a study shows that physical violence was the most perceived by 56.6% of the participants (physical aggression, bodily harm, physical contact)³³33 Rosa R, Boing AF, Schraiber LB, Coelho EBS. Violência: conceito e vivência entre acadêmicos da área da saúde. Interface (Botucatu). 2010; 14(32):81-90. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1590/S1414-32832010000100007.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1414-3283201000... :

In the narratives above, we can identify crimes: slapping the face is bodily harm³⁴34 Brasil. Decreto-Lei nº 2.848, de 7 de Dezembro de 1940. Código Penal. Diário Oficial da União. 31 Dez 1940., spitting in the face and forcing one to lick body parts can be actual injury³⁴34 Brasil. Decreto-Lei nº 2.848, de 7 de Dezembro de 1940. Código Penal. Diário Oficial da União. 31 Dez 1940. or illegal humiliation³⁴34 Brasil. Decreto-Lei nº 2.848, de 7 de Dezembro de 1940. Código Penal. Diário Oficial da União. 31 Dez 1940., being forced to eat someone else’s food can constitute the crime of torture³⁵35 Brasil. Lei Nº 9.455, de 7 de Abril de 1997. Define os crimes de tortura e dá outras providências. Diário Oficial da União. 8 Abr 1997.. Another situation that we identified that could be an illegal harassment³⁴34 Brasil. Decreto-Lei nº 2.848, de 7 de Dezembro de 1940. Código Penal. Diário Oficial da União. 31 Dez 1940. is the “toll”: freshmen ask for money from people who drive by on the streets, under the command of veterans:

When the toll collecting happens, several elders [graduated students] are there, with their cars, then they put the freshmen inside the cars and take them [...] Sometimes the elders get very upset: ‘there’s very little money, get some more’ [...] There’s hot sun in the afternoon, it’s obvious that the freshmen will be tired, there’s no way! (P14, female student)

Other narratives mentioned are derogatory nicknames that can be classified as insulting³⁴34 Brasil. Decreto-Lei nº 2.848, de 7 de Dezembro de 1940. Código Penal. Diário Oficial da União. 31 Dez 1940. and other forms of illegal humiliation³⁴34 Brasil. Decreto-Lei nº 2.848, de 7 de Dezembro de 1940. Código Penal. Diário Oficial da União. 31 Dez 1940.: participating in activities such as imitating animals; having to stay in uncomfortable/humiliating body positions, situations mentioned by professors, employees, and students.

All these situations demonstrate the hierarchy present between senior and freshman students. Since the Middle Ages, students have been subjected to rituals that involve shaving their heads, ingesting spoiled drinks or excrement, they are called “animals”: animals that should be trained³¹31 Lima MCP. Sobre trote, vampiros e relacionamento humano nas escolas médicas. Rev Bras Educ Med. 2012; 36(3):407-13.. These are humiliating situations of subordination and psychological violence. Hazing rituals can involve numerous forms of violence, and, although prohibited by state law⁸8 Ferreira V, Vieira CC, Lopes M, Santos CC. Pandemia e academia em casa: efeitos no ensino, na investigação e na cidadania académica sob uma perspectiva de género. Coimbra: Editora Centro de Estudos Sociais-UC/ Colégio de S. Jerónimo; 2021. and university regulations³⁶36 Universidade de São Paulo - USP. Portaria GR nº 3154, de 27 de Abril de 1999. Dispõe sobre a proibição do trote na USP. Normas USP [Internet]. São Paulo: USP; 1999 [citado 7 Mar 2022]. Disponível em: https://prg.usp.br/institucional/reitoria/gr-315499-dispoe-sobre-a-proibicao-do-trote-na-usp/
https://prg.usp.br/institucional/reitori... , they still occur.

These illegal practices perpetuate the elitist character of universities, marking the beginning of university life with a violence that can last as long as the person is in the institution and make them reproduce these behaviors, including in their professional life. A literature review on violence in nursing education³⁷37 Maffissoni AL, Sanes MS, Oliveira SN, Martini JG, Lino MM. Violência e suas implicações na formação em enfermagem: revisão da literatura. Rev CuidArte. 2020; 11(2):e1064. found a study that shows that students who suffer violence sometimes have feelings that indicate the desire to practice violence as a way of fighting back.

Violence based on gender and race

Many narratives by the participants contain situations that can be characterized as psychological violence¹⁷17 Dahlberg LL, Krug EG. Violência: um problema global de saúde pública. Cienc Saude Colet. 2006; 11 Suppl:1163-78. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-81232006000500007.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-8123200600... , where social markers of gender and race are identified, and when these are present at the same time this encompasses the concept of intersectionality²⁹29 Crenshaw K. Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex; a black feminist critique discrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. Chicago: University of Chicago Legal Forum; 1989. p. 139-67., i.e. discrimination and violence suffered due to gender and at the same time time depending on race/color, social class, and place of origin. Violence from the intersection of these social markers is structural and is reproduced in social relationships.

Recent research at this university¹⁴14 Universidade de São Paulo - USP. Portaria GR nº 6766, de 10de Agosto de 2016. Dispõe sobre o Escritório USP Mulheres. Normas USP [Internet]. São Paulo: USP; 2016 [citado 20 Fev 22]. Disponível em: http://www.leginf.usp.br/?portaria=portaria-gr-6766-de-10-de-agosto-de-2016
http://www.leginf.usp.br/?portaria=porta... listened to 13,377 students and identified violence based on gender, race and social origin, types of violence also present in society in general, pointing to the structural character of IPV. In this study we show examples of the reproduction of this violence in the university environment, highlighting its character of socially produced violence, although individually perceived.

The sexist and racist structure is perceived in university songs and chants that sexualize and belittle women, especially black women:

The songs and chants reproduce a culture that subordinates women and is perpetuated by other practices in the student environment:

Being ranked in terms of beauty and sexual performance without authorization is considered a type of moral violence and was identified by 3.7% of the survey respondents¹⁴14 Universidade de São Paulo - USP. Portaria GR nº 6766, de 10de Agosto de 2016. Dispõe sobre o Escritório USP Mulheres. Normas USP [Internet]. São Paulo: USP; 2016 [citado 20 Fev 22]. Disponível em: http://www.leginf.usp.br/?portaria=portaria-gr-6766-de-10-de-agosto-de-2016
http://www.leginf.usp.br/?portaria=porta... . A similar understanding appears in the research “Violence against women in the university environment”³⁸38 Scavone M. Violência contra a mulher no ambiente universitário. São Paulo: Data Popular/Instituto Avon; 2015., beauty rankings were considered psychological violence, with 24% of women identifying as a victim and 11% of men reporting having practiced it. The same study identified the unauthorized sharing of photos and videos as psychological violence, with 14% of women being victims, 10% of men practicing it, and 31% of them not recognizing it as violence, demonstrating that it is in fact GBV (Gender based violence).

Still within the scope of GBV, participants talk about situations in which women suffer psychological violence because they do not fit into beauty stereotypes:

In a review study on violence in the Nursing course, the practice of bullying among students was identified, often motivated by issues of race/color³⁷37 Maffissoni AL, Sanes MS, Oliveira SN, Martini JG, Lino MM. Violência e suas implicações na formação em enfermagem: revisão da literatura. Rev CuidArte. 2020; 11(2):e1064.. In a literature review on violence in health education³²32 Teixeira MCB, Dias MC, Ribeiro CDM. Entre espelhos: a formação em saúde e sua produção de violência. Rev ABENO. 2018; 18(2):156-65., 21.8% of the studies identified prejudice involving gender and race stereotypes, gender discrimination, homophobia, racism, and discrimination due to social class and regional origin.

Participants’ accounts highlight the presence of sexist and racist behaviors, such as the disqualification of women and blacks, leading students to denounce them when they occur in the classroom:

GBV in an intersectional way with race is also present in the context of the classroom:

The narratives presented show that these violent occurrences are structural and are present throughout the university environment. They are present in the interpersonal relationships between students and student-professors, regardless of the power relationship established according to the hierarchy. However, when violence involves hierarchy, victims are less able to react/report.

Moral harassment

Among the different types of psychological violence, moral harassment is a category that is legally contextualized in the work environment, and which occurs in the relationships between boss and subordinate, but it is also possible that it happens between people of the same hierarchical level or even ascending level³⁹39 Brasil. Tribunal Superior do Trabalho. Cartilha de prevenção ao assédio moral. Brasília: Tribunal Superior do Trabalho; 2019.. Moral harassment is highlighted for its importance in a hierarchical environment with evident power relations.

Moral harassment⁴⁰40 Barreto M, Heloani R. Violência, saúde e trabalho: a intolerância e o assédio moral nas relações laborais. Serv Soc Soc. 2015; (123):544-61. consists of a series of humiliations suffered in the work environment, a form of psychological torture resulting from exposure to negative acts by one or more people. Its main characteristic is the systematic repetition of acts that humiliate, constrain, and disqualify, showing the conflict between those who hold more power and their subordinates. It is exemplified as acts of intolerance, racism or discrimination that turn into persecution, isolation, denial of communication, overload, or denial of responsibilities, generating suffering for the victim⁴⁰40 Barreto M, Heloani R. Violência, saúde e trabalho: a intolerância e o assédio moral nas relações laborais. Serv Soc Soc. 2015; (123):544-61..

In this study, it was possible to recognize that the hierarchy present in the classroom, in the professor-student relationship, also gives rise to situations that fit the perspective of moral harassment. In the university context, there are many motivations for the violence that characterizes moral harassment. Maffisoni et al.³⁷37 Maffissoni AL, Sanes MS, Oliveira SN, Martini JG, Lino MM. Violência e suas implicações na formação em enfermagem: revisão da literatura. Rev CuidArte. 2020; 11(2):e1064. mention sexual, religious and racial prejudice, the hierarchy present in the professor-student relationship, lack of professional preparation, lack of student interest and the search for academic excellence. This last motivation can be recognized in the following narrative:

In this situation, the student has the perception that moral harassment can be more intense when there is the question of race involved, which points to the intersectionality of this violence.

The study by Maffisoni et al.³⁷37 Maffissoni AL, Sanes MS, Oliveira SN, Martini JG, Lino MM. Violência e suas implicações na formação em enfermagem: revisão da literatura. Rev CuidArte. 2020; 11(2):e1064. shows that psychological violence is what most affects students, and includes moral harassment committed by professors against students, in which the professor expresses disbelief in the student’s knowledge, there is the impediment to expressing opinions and a raised tone of voice to correct them. One of the explanations for psychological violence between professors and students is the rigid hierarchical relationships established in the academy, exercised by grades and passes, negligence of teaching or lack of patience in approaching content.

A study that investigated different configurations of violence in pedagogical relationships at the university (professors-students) based on the theory of violence/symbolic power, argues that the difference in power/hierarchy between students and professors can motivate such violence⁴¹41 Cruz G. Diferentes configurações da violência nas relações pedagógicas entre docentes e discentes do ensino superior. Rev Bras Enferm. 2013; 66(2):241-50.. Psychological violence was evidenced in situations where professors exposed students to embarrassment, humiliation and psychological pressure, such as when a student asks a question and is humiliated by the teacher. There are situations in which teachers consider students to be incapable of learning, underestimating their ability and questioning the fact that they are in that environment, making demands from them beyond their ability and denying them supervision:

All the international principles⁴²42 Delors J. Educação: um tesouro a descobrir, relatório para a UNESCO da Comissão Internacional sobre Educação para o Século XXI. Paris: International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century; 2011. of education and the Brazilian university²2 Brasil. Constituição da República Federativa do Brasil de 1988. Brasília: Senado Federal; 1988. are contradicted when IPV is tolerated in the academic environment.

A teacher reported that some teachers practiced moral harassment against students for political reasons, at the time of the election, defending candidates in classrooms. This violence of moral harassment is also present in post-graduate studies:

In the boss-subordinate relationship there are also reports of moral harassment. Barreto and Heloani⁴⁰40 Barreto M, Heloani R. Violência, saúde e trabalho: a intolerância e o assédio moral nas relações laborais. Serv Soc Soc. 2015; (123):544-61. argue that isolated and repeated acts of discrimination, intolerance or racism result in moral harassment. In our study, some situations were identified:

Other presented narratives point to situations of moral harassment involving race/color, sexual orientation and health condition. These can be present in veiled or explicit situations, questioning the performance of the employee based on beliefs and myths about ethnic origin:

Another type of moral harassment that appeared in the narratives of three participants (P8, employee, P9 and P10, Professors) deserves to be highlighted: the victim, an employee who provides services in the teaching unit hired by the foundation, without stable employment, and the aggressor a professor. Reports describe that the professor’s demands in relation to the activities performed were unreasonable, and the employee was subjected to an excessive workload, and, despite all her efforts, she received many criticisms and demands for work beyond her job description. The peak of the harassment occurred when the father of this employee died, the professor, ignoring her right to leave, pestered her with calls, requesting her services. The employee became ill, was removed, needed psychological follow-up, and was relocated to another sector:

In relation to outsourced employees, situations were reported of bosses who have a very strict control over schedules, even interfering with how these were distributed to students. Also, outsourcing services contributes to precariousness at work, increasing the number of accidents, illnesses and mental disorders⁴⁰40 Barreto M, Heloani R. Violência, saúde e trabalho: a intolerância e o assédio moral nas relações laborais. Serv Soc Soc. 2015; (123):544-61..

With the exception of P4’s report, the accounts given in this section took place in health courses or services. Although it is not the only place where moral harassment occurs, there is a lack of a culture of humanism in technical courses and in the field of health. In a study on violence with students in the health field, Rosa et al.³³33 Rosa R, Boing AF, Schraiber LB, Coelho EBS. Violência: conceito e vivência entre acadêmicos da área da saúde. Interface (Botucatu). 2010; 14(32):81-90. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1590/S1414-32832010000100007.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1414-3283201000... understood that the process of training in health is centered on biomedical rationality and the curricula of these courses show inadequacies in content and pedagogical practices for the exercise of activities that involve the plurality of health service needs in the country, including the issue of violence.

A literature review on violence in undergraduate nursing³⁷37 Maffissoni AL, Sanes MS, Oliveira SN, Martini JG, Lino MM. Violência e suas implicações na formação em enfermagem: revisão da literatura. Rev CuidArte. 2020; 11(2):e1064., discusses that training in this area presupposes the relationship between human beings, essential for the development of skills and competences, which, added to gender, class and race issues, can accentuate the degree of vulnerability of students, generate competitiveness and raise the level of stress and manifestations of violence in this context.

Institutional violence

Institutional violence⁴³43 Brasil. Presidência da República. Secretaria Especial de Políticas Para as Mulheres. Secretaria de Enfrentamento à Violência Contra As Mulheres (Org.). Política Nacional de Enfrentamento à Violência contra as Mulheres. Brasília: Presidência da República; 2011. is produced by an institution, through actions, when it practices violence against someone, through an employee of the institution who behaves aggressively or uses their judgment of value to respond to any complaint they receive due to their institutional role. It can also occur by omission, when you do not take proper care of a person who has been through a situation of violence.

There is the account of an employee in regard to a situation that came to their knowledge involving a professor-student relationship which illustrates this: the professor, a university employee, in the performance of their duties, commits violence against the student by reprimanding her in public. This is a gender issue as it involves motherhood as an exclusive female responsibility, which increases women’s vulnerability:

Another report made by P2, a professor, narrates obstetric violence as possibly present: the violence suffered by pregnant patients. It is a type of institutional violence, as it is a violence present in the health system, committed by professors in a teaching environment that can be reproduced by students in the future.

In a research aimed at understanding the occurrence of violence during health training³²32 Teixeira MCB, Dias MC, Ribeiro CDM. Entre espelhos: a formação em saúde e sua produção de violência. Rev ABENO. 2018; 18(2):156-65., community, cultural and institutional IPV was found, concluding that these types of violence are part of the students’ training, they are often naturalized. This trivialization makes it difficult for institutions to face up to them, and they become reproducers of violence.

Other narratives make it possible to identify situations in which the university demonstrates an unpreparedness to apply the planned disciplinary procedures:

A study on offensive situations caused by teaching staff due to gender and power relations existing in the institution⁴⁴44 Figueiredo VCN, Silva QEF, Santana FAL. Assédio moral e gênero na universidade pública: ressonâncias do produtivismo no trabalho docente. Rev on line Polit Gest Educ. 2020; 24(3):1841-55. Doi: https://doi.org/10.22633/rpge.v24iesp3.14291.
https://doi.org/10.22633/rpge.v24iesp3.1... , identified an organizational culture marked by virility. The university has an alleged scientific rational neutrality adapted to a meritocratic logic that values combativeness and the dissemination of virility as a rule of conduct, anesthetizing fear, and attributing suffering to the other.

These situations highlight institutional violence at the university. The seriousness lies in the fact that the university, as an institution, instead of facing up to violence ends up becoming the author, and in this context, it presents many difficulties in dealing with IPV.

Conclusion

The reports presented show us the existence of diverse types of violence and this requires special attention. Knowing about the violence allows for the identification of this public health problem to improve existing responses or create ways to face it. Understanding the specifics of violence in this environment allows for an adequate confrontation.

In this study, we recognize as a limitation the fact that it reflects the reality of only one of this university campus, but it is possible to perceive that the violence of this campus interacts with other experiences, which is a more common problem than one thinks, as shown by the studies cited herein. However, in order to fully address this problem, university policies must be based on scientific evidence.

With the need to create effective policies to face IPV, and by recognizing the complexity of the intersection of gender, race and social class markers, an immense challenge is presented in the context of the “Performing Neoliberal University”⁸8 Ferreira V, Vieira CC, Lopes M, Santos CC. Pandemia e academia em casa: efeitos no ensino, na investigação e na cidadania académica sob uma perspectiva de género. Coimbra: Editora Centro de Estudos Sociais-UC/ Colégio de S. Jerónimo; 2021., worldwide.

New parts of the population are joining the university environment and it continues to be the space to produce knowledge. Breaking away from elitist and violent practices that take place there is an urgent task for a university that needs to reaffirm its leading role and its ability to contribute to solving social problems, including violence.

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