Concrete Confessions: An Investigation into Women’s Experiences of Gendered and Digital Harassment in a Higher Education Institution

James, Andrea Louise (2026) Concrete Confessions: An Investigation into Women’s Experiences of Gendered and Digital Harassment in a Higher Education Institution. Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

This research examines how and in what ways women students in higher education, specifically at the University of East Anglia, experience gendered and digital harms. Examinations of sexual and gender-based harassment in Higher Education (HE) have often lacked a focus on the digital; with the ever-increasing push towards online learning, it is critical we focus on this because with new digital technologies comes new (re)mediations of digital-enabled harassment and violence worldwide. In the context of HE, the push to digitise the university places students who are already minoritized at greater risk. Drawing upon the disciplines of gender-based violence research, feminist theory, and online misogyny, and using a mixed methodology of focus groups, and interviews, , I chart the broad spectrum (one which is often digitally mediated or involving a digital element) of gender-based harassment faced by students both on and off campus, as well as online.

Students who identify as women, trans, or non-binary are more vulnerable to gender-based violence than their male counterparts, and structural dynamics of higher education, such as university policies, perpetuate this. I locate the university as an assemblage of many disparate moving parts which provide a scaffold for the entrenchment of gender roles, harassment, and bad practice, not only from and towards students but also members of staff. Despite increased recognition of gender and sexual violence in education, including Hidden Marks (NUS 2010), That’s What She Said (NUS, Phipps, and Young 2012), Power in the Academy (NUS 2018) and others - students are still left with little recourse within their institutions to hold those culpable to account.

This research demonstrates how common and impactful these experiences are, arguing that higher education institutions must do more to address them, not only out of a duty of care towards their students, but because these experiences often happen on campus, in university spaces, or at university events. These findings are indicative of university cultures across the sector of UK higher education. They also have broader implications for women in academia in relation to the digital sphere, which is replete with new and evolving forms of abuse, a lack of culpability, and a lack of recognition from institutions.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > School of Media, Language and Communication Studies
Depositing User:	Chris White
Date Deposited:	01 Jun 2026 13:15
Last Modified:	01 Jun 2026 13:15
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/103221
DOI:

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