title: Sexual harassment in dentistry: prevalence in dental school.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Sexual harassment is unlawful in all work and educational environments in most nations of the world. The goals of this study were to describe the sexual harassment prevalence and to evaluate the experiences and attitudes of undergraduate students in one dental school in Brazil.
  
  
  METHODS
  An 18-item questionnaire was administered to 254 dental students with a completion rate of 82% (208). Students were requested to respond to questions about their background and academic level in dental school, their personal experiences with sexual harassment and their observation of someone else being sexually harassed. Bivariate statistical analyses were performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifteen percent of the students reported being sexually harassed by a patient, by a relative of a patient or by a professor. Male students had 3 times higher probability of being sexually harassed than female student [OR=2.910 (1.113-7.611)]. Additionally, 25.4% of the students reported witnessing sexual harassment at the school environment. The majority of students did not feel professionally prepared to respond to unwanted sexual behaviors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings demonstrate that sexual harassment can occur in a dental school setting. There is a need for ongoing sexual harassment education programs for students and university staff. Increased knowledge of sexual harassment during graduation can better prepare dental professionals to respond to sexual harassment during their practice.
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Bioethics, Department of Pediatric and Community Dentistry, Araçatuba Dental School, São Paulo State University, Araçatuba, SP, Brazil. cgarbin@foa.unesp.br
authors.forename: Cléa Adas Saliba
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Garbin
authors.forename: Lívia Guimarães
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Zina
authors.forename: Artênio José Insper
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Garbin
authors.forename: Suzely Adas Saliba
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Moimaz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012575:Schools, Dental; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012737:Sex Factors; D017406:Sexual Harassment / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013335:Students, Dental / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult