Introduction:

Sexual violence is a prevalent event against female medical students around the world. Exposure to touch, physical contact, and unwelcome sexual incitements can occur in a variety of educational and medical practice settings.

Objective:

To analyze sexual violence against female students in medical schools.

Method:

Cross-sectional study with 211 students from 8 medical schools in Piauí, interviewed between May and November 2021. An online questionnaire was used with questions about sociodemographic characteristics, information about the institution and the course, and aspects related to sexual violence at the university level. Multivariate analysis was performed using multiple logistic regression, with calculation of adjusted odds ratios (AOR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI).

Result:

More than half (55.0%) of the students reported some type of sexual violence during the medical course, more often as a single event (69.3%). Sexist or sexually degrading comments (87.8%), occurring in practice environments (55.3%), in the 1st and 2nd years of the course (65.8%) and in basic cycle subjects (63.0%) were more frequently. The profile of the majority of aggressors is represented by men (99.0%), over 40 years old (60.4%) and teachers (59.3%). Sexual violence resulted in emotional distress (47.3%) and reduced productivity/quality of study (25%), but the majority failed to report it (92.9%). There was a greater chance of sexual violence against students who self-reported as bisexual (AOR=3.87; 95%CI 1.20-12.48) and at public educational institutions (AOR=3.12; 95%CI 1.67-5.82).

Conclusion:

The prevalence of sexual violence during medical education was high, mainly revealed in the form of sexual harassment. Sexual orientation and educational institution characteristics were associated with sexual violence. The findings stimulate actions to prevent and mitigate this serious issue during medical education.

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