Summary Background. Traditional curricula of Medicine consider the mistreatment of students as a pedagogical teaching technique. Objective. To determine the frequency of academic undergraduate abuse by teachers of medicine programs in Manizales (Colombia), 2013. Materials and Methods. A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted on a population of 401 abuse and harassment: Students enrolled in the I to X semesters of the faculties of medicine at University of Manizales and University of Caldas (Manizales, Colombia), in 2013. An anonymous survey consisting of 48 questions divided into the following aspects was conducted: institutional support, sexual harassment and mistreatment inflicted by the teachers. Results. 70.6% of the students has been affected by at least one type of abuse, 29.2% has perceived at least one event of sexual abuse and only 7.2% feels integral institutional support. Abuse is similar between genders in terms of basic and clinical areas Rev. Fac. Med. 2016 Vol. 64 No. 1: 9-19