Sometimes, you communicate with someone only in English via email, prepare questions in English, and arrive to your interview to find out that – surprise! – it is going to be in Spanish.
Other than a few grammar irregularities in our correspondence, I had no reason to believe one of my interview subjects spoke next to no English. This was, without a doubt, the biggest curveball thrown my way so far. Luckily, another professor was also at the interview who spoke a bit of English and could help. Between my Spanish, a few English translations from one professor, and a whole lot of fluent Castellano from the other, the interview happened and everyone was mostly on the same page.
Other fun things about this interview was that it happened on a day that was nearly 38 degrees (nearly 100 degrees for y’all that are in the states), I wore my interview outfit (I only have one, because of space) which is gray chinos and a non-wrinkle button down. With the hot commute, the outfit, and the added stress of conducting research in Spanish, I was certainly in the hot seat.
Me at the university in my interview outfit.
Difficulties aside, here’s how the interview went:
I was immediately presented with a printed policy, facts about the university, and a document identifying gender violence as an important institutional issue. I still have to translate the policy in more detail, but what I learned from these professors is that there have been problems in the university that they are working to address. However, the nature of the problem is much different as few students live on campus, but instead commute to school. While there have been problems between students, what is more common is problems between a student and a professor or between two professors. There are difficulties with power dynamics in these relationships, and often a violation is not reported until this power dynamic has changed – which can be years after the fact.
Within the university when a case is brought forward, there is a commission that investigates the facts about the case, and then decides what action needs to be taken (similar to what happens in most United States schools). According to interview subjects, this action is often just transferring the person who reported a violation to a different department or faculty. In several cases, groups of feminists on campus have thought that the university’s response has not been strong enough and they have posted photos of the accused aggressor and explaining what they had been accused of. Interestingly this is very similar to some of the stories from the colectivas feministas in Brazil, who also post names or pictures of accused aggressors when the university does not respond to their liking.
Interestingly, though identified as an issue, the two professors I spoke with could not stress enough that their biggest problem was a lack of resources. All of their work on the issue was altruistic and there is no one in an official capacity at the university that deals with the issue of gender violence. Currently, they are trying to change the policy and increase resources so that there are resources (legal, psychologic, and medical) for victims of a sexual crime.
The most interesting aspect from the interview was the fact that the issue is not often discussed in culture or the media. The professors referred to is as “la violencia invisible” because it is often not seen publicly or addressed. This invisible violence also linked to the male dominated “Cultura machista” where it is normal for men to be in power, expect certain thinks of women, and historically hold higher position in society. As an example. Recently there was a PSA in Spain about sexual assault and gender violence that showed a young woman getting very drunk and passing out in a man’s bed. The take home message was “Don’t put yourself in this situation.” Unfortunately, it was not “don’t commit a crime.”
As I go through the interview (and translate it) I will have more updates.