70pc campus sexual harassment cases go unreported: Research

A RESEARCH conducted by Bulawayo Polytecnic and Hillside Teacher’s College at institutions of higher learning in Bulawayo has revealed that 70 percent of sexual harassment cases go unreported on campus.

Speaking at the third annual research and innovation conference hosted by the Bulawayo Polytechnic in Victoria Falls last week, Mrs Eugenia Takavarasha, a lecturer at Hillside Teacher’s College, said institutions were criticised for not giving sexual harassment cases deserved attention.

She said research indicates that 70 percent of sexually harassed students do not report the cases as blame is always shifted to them.

“Students blame colleges for lack of proper management of such matters with only 30 percent of them agreeing to report to administration although they rarely yield solutions. Only major cases such as attempted rape and rape were otherwise reported.

“70 percent of students said they don’t report such cases because they dread being referred to police where they will be exposed to inhuman questioning and practices. Reporting such matters has resulted in victimisation of many students,” Mrs Takavarasha said.

She said another group said reporting sexual harassment to administration was a waste of time as cases were swept under the carpet by authorities.

“Some of those perpetrators are in the disciplinary committees and the rest of the team would cover up for their colleagues,” Mrs Takavarasha said.

“The administrative staff view sexual harassment as a relationship that would have turned sour and so whenever a student reports such cases, they are told off,” she said.

Mrs Takavarasha said students regard harassment as an abuse of power by lecturers.

“Many revealed that in the struggle to pass their studies, they fall victim to that kind of abuse. Some have fallen into consensual relationships, those between a lecturer and a student and this is happening in and out of campuses.

“Administrators denied allegations of the prevalence of sexual harassment saying they were not that common. They said all reported cases were put through sexual disciplinary hearings while the serious cases were referred to the police. Staff members indicated that some reports are unbelievable and not serious hence no action was taken on them,” she said.

Presenting another research paper, Mrs Faith Kurete, a lecturer at Bulawayo Polytechnic, said disrespect for human dignity and poverty are the main causes or perpetuating factors of sexual harassment at Bulawayo Polytechnic.

“We recommend that institutions should institute policy frameworks on how to deal with sexual harassment within their institutions and there should be consistency in the implementation of the policy. We also recommend that there should be counselling services within the institutions.” — @ winnie_masara