UP universities report most cases of sexual harassment

NEW DELHI: One in every four alleged cases of sexual harassment in India’s universities come from colleges in Uttar Pradesh, according to official data, underscoring a problem that emerged in focus this week after a woman’s alleged molestation led to violence in Banaras Hindu University.

A student said she was attacked outside her hostel in Varanasi’s BHU and her attempts to lodge a complaint were rebuffed, prompting several women students to begin a sit-in. Late on Saturday, police cane-charged the protesters as their numbers swell and an inquiry by the Varanasi administration blamed BHU officials for letting the agitation go out of hand.

According to data collected by the University Grants Commission between April 1, 2016 and March 31, 2017 for a first survey to size up the problem of sexual harassment on campuses, 103 women students alleged they were victimised. Among those, 24 were from UP, but none from the BHU. Cases were reported from Aligarh University, Ambedkar University, and Sharda University among others. Of 16 cases reported from Punjab, 12 were from Panjab University, Chandigarh. Eight complaints came from Haryana and 15 from University of Calicut in Kerala.

The UGC data, particularly relating to UP, reflected a trend supported by statistics from the National Crime Records Bureau, the official compiler of crime statistics in the country. The number of sexual harassment cases in the state went up by 33% -from 4,435 in 2014 to 5,925 in 2015, reported Indiaspend, a data journalism website, quoting NCRB figures.