Sexual harassment
Opinion
The fight against sexual misconduct at universities must go on
Lola Olufemi
Student action was behind the 『success』 of a new reporting system at Cambridge. There must be no let-up
Fri 9 Feb 2018 16.20 GMT
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My experience as the women’s officer on the Cambridge University students』 union has been defined by conversations about sexual violence. I have seen students at their most vulnerable, and been witness to their fights for justice. Anyone involved in this work knows that sexual violence can have long-lasting effects on a person’s sense of self, and their academic attainment.
For too long, guidance such as that contained in the 1994 Zellick report allowed UK universities to place their reputations before the wellbeing of their students. It enabled them to avoid providing adequate reporting methods and specialist aftercare. Survivors and victims were treated like pariahs. The result is that today they are unlikely to come forward or to use formal disciplinary routes, while they have an ingrained distrust that incidents will be dealt with robustly.
We must refuse to let conversations about sexual violence become the vehicle through which institutions compete with one another to enhance their reputations
Behind Cambridge University’s new Breaking the Silence campaign, which aims to encourage greater reporting of sexual misconduct, sits a history of students organising themselves against past institutional failures across British universities. For years women and non-binary students ran consent workshops even as they were ridiculed for doing so, and provided anonymous forums and feedback mechanisms so that those who experienced sexual harassment could draw attention to how universities』 close, personalised style of teaching could foster a culture of sexual harassment.
These activists were the originators of this conversation and pushed institutions not only to admit they had a problem but to take responsibility for it. They collected data, rallied fellow students, threatened to occupy buildings and provided support networks that became the template for the new framework. We must not forget that it was students who raised their voices and demanded a meaningful response to sexual violence.
The high number of disclosures of sexual assault since the anonymous reporting system was introduced has been hailed as a 「success」. Rather than joining in the congratulations, our role is now to ensure that support services are well resourced and disciplinary procedures accessible. We must also ask why individuals feel more comfortable coming forward anonymously, and why there was, until recently, no formal recognition that the problem even existed. There can be no 「successes」 in the work of ending sexual violence, only a recognition that there is much more work to be done.
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In addition, we must refuse to let conversations about sexual violence become the vehicle through which institutions compete with one another to enhance their reputations. Universities must consider data gathered by the NUS Women’s Campaign and organisations such as the 1752 Group, which has consistently pointed out the need for a profound culture shift in the ways we teach, learn and use university space in relation to sexual harassment.
In Cambridge, student activists continue to ask for more from the Breaking the Silence initiative. In particular, the Women’s Campaign is pushing for a change in the disciplinary procedure so that decisions no longer rely on a criminal standard of proof but on the balance of probabilities. If we let our institutions go unchecked in their attempts to combat sexual violence, such attempts may turn into empty posturing.
Students know their institutions have significant problems with sexual violence. We have always known. We have spoken informally and shared experiences, provided spaces for support when our institutions refused to. As the creators of the conversation, we are tasked with ensuring that it ushers in a future where sexual violence no longer exists, inside or outside university walls.
• Lola Olufemi is a recent Cambridge University graduate and the university’s current students』 union women’s officer
Topics
Sexual harassment
Opinion
University of Cambridge
Higher education
Students
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本文來源:https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/09/sexual-misconduct-universities-student-cambridge