One in seven students at further education colleges in the UK say they have been raped or subjected to an attempted rape, research has found.

Three-quarters of respondents to a survey for the NUS Women’s Campaign said they had had an unwanted sexual experience at least once, while three in 10 said they had been pressured to establish an unwanted sexual or romantic relationship. More than one in three said they had experienced unwanted sexual contact such as pinching or groping.

Only one in seven of those who had experienced any form of unwanted sexual behaviour said they had reported it, with more than half saying they did not think it was serious enough.

The NUS said although there has been progress on the issue of sexual abuse in the education sector, it has been limited largely to universities. It is concerned that colleges, which have fewer resources, are being left behind.

The NUS women’s officer, Sarah Lasoye, said: “The findings show we need urgent responses to tackle sexual harassment and violence in further education institutions. This culture has been normalised to such an extent that unhealthy sexual behaviour has become harder to identify. While students may understand the concept of consent, they struggle to put it into practice, with women fearing revenge and anger from men.”

The findings, based on a survey of 544 students, mainly women, and three focus groups at colleges in London and Liverpool, showed abuse to be rife on campuses as well as on social media and in public spaces such as nightclubs. Other types of abuse reported included unwanted kissing and having skirts or trousers pulled down.

Disabled students were significantly more likely than non-disabled respondents to have experienced several forms of sexual misconduct at least once.

Much of the abuse occurred at the hands of current or former partners. More than half of respondents who had been in romantic relationships said they had experienced verbal abuse such as name-calling and insults at least once.

Half had been unjustly accused of flirting with others or of cheating by their partner, while four in 10 said they had feared their partner and a similar proportion said they had experienced verbal or non-verbal threats or intimidation.

Speaking about the issue of consent, one 17-year-old female student said: “You can be afraid of the response: [what] if they get violent or aggressive? If with a partner, suddenly it creates a sour moment in their relationship. It’s so easy to … say ‘I do really like it’ and just compromise.”

Previous partners accounted for four in 10 attempted rapes and almost half of rapes.

Lasoye said: “The sooner we can open up our understanding of feminism and educate young people on sexual harassment and assault, along with healthy and transformative gender relations, the sooner we will be able to eradicate the toxic behaviours and attitudes that replicate and concretise themselves in the minds of young people.”

David Hughes, the chief executive of the Association of Colleges, said the report made for sobering reading. He said the association was proposing to the NUS and Department for Education to establish a joint working group with college leaders “to make sure that we are doing everything we can to share best practice, learn from each other and stamp out unacceptable behaviour, and to support those impacted and to make clear to potential perpetrators that this behaviour is never acceptable and will never be tolerated.”

A DfE spokesperson said: “We expect colleges to carefully study this survey’s serious findings and respond collectively to address the issue of sexual abuse. The department will be keen to discuss that response with colleges and what further support government can provide.”