Young adults who have attended university are twice as likely to report experiencing unwanted sexual approaches compared to their peers without higher education, a new study reveals.
Findings from University College London (UCL) indicate that over one in five (22 per cent) 23-year-olds with a degree reported such experiences, contrasting with 11 per cent of those who did not pursue higher education.
However, the analysis of data from 10,000 individuals born in the UK between 2000 and 2002 also highlighted that those without a university background were more prone to reporting other forms of crime and victimisation.
Nearly a quarter (23 per cent) of non-graduates stated they had been stopped by the police, compared to 14 per cent of graduates.
Similarly, non-university educated individuals were more likely to have experienced assault (12 per cent versus 9 per cent).
Lead study author Dr Aase Villadsen told the Press Association the difference could be related to what young people perceive as an unwanted sexual approach, and those with higher education may be less likely to accept gender inequalities.
The research on Gen Z adults from the Millennium Cohort Study found a quarter of female participants said they had experienced sexual harassment, and one in seven had experienced emotional abuse by their partner.
Male participants were significantly more likely to be involved in crime and have had more interactions with the criminal justice system, and were also more likely to report having been physically assaulted or victimised with a weapon.
Women were more likely to report unwanted sexual approaches, sexual assault, emotional abuse from a partner and intimate partner violence.
Dr Villadsen said men should not be left out of strategies to tackle violence.
“It’s not often very popular to say, but I do think we shouldn’t take our eyes off the ball that men report being exposed to many violent situations,” she told PA.
Compared with data from when the participants were 17, reports of being physically assaulted or assaulted with a weapon had declined, but more young people said they had been stopped by police and been cautioned or arrested.
Dr Villadsen said rates or weapon carrying and assault with a weapon are still too high among more socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
“Worryingly, unwanted sexual harassment and sexual assault have become much more common, especially for females,” she added.
