Drawing the line: universities address harassment on campus
Following the release of a report on sexual harassment complaints at Ghent University, universities across Flanders are looking at measures to protect their students and staff from inappropriate behaviour
‘It can happen anywhere’
UGent swiftly established an external commission to draw up recommendations for preventive measures. Published shortly before Christmas, the commission’s report into unwanted sexual behaviour has been welcomed in some quarters, while in others it has caused confusion. Some professors even took to Twitter and to the press to ridicule and protest against what they see as unnecessary measures.
But the report has revealed that sexually inappropriate behaviour is as present on educational campuses as anywhere else. Given the gravity of the UGent case and the publicity it has received, university leaders in Flanders are now reviewing the contents of the report, assessing their own procedures and facing up to the crucial question of what measures, if any, should be taken
According to Mireille Deziron, one of the authors of the report, sexually inappropriate behaviour can occur anywhere. “Not only in Ghent, but in every university, every school and other organisations,” says the former chief executive of Jobpunt Vlaanderen.
A community of trust
The commission’s report recommends a series of measures. These include an awareness campaign concerning sexually inappropriate behaviour, avoiding one-to-one meetings in enclosed spaces and recommendations for the hiring of university staff to ensure that they have not only academic excellence but that they demonstrate strong interpersonal skills.
Perhaps the most divisive of these recommendations is the perceived ban on one-to-one meetings in enclosed spaces. A professor from UGent defiantly said on Twitter that he had been holding one-to-one meetings with students for many years. “And I am planning to have many more,” he said.
A university is a community where we should have an atmosphere of complete trust
At the University of Leuven (KU Leuven), meanwhile, rector Rik Torfs says an internal report to address the issue of sexually inappropriate behaviour and the well-being of staff was already in the works before the UGent case. Concerning a ban on such meetings, Torfs contends that a university community is built upon trust.
“It should not be a starting point that every situation is potentially criminal,” he says. “A university is a community where we should have an atmosphere of complete trust.”
A ban on one-to-one meetings is not necessary, he says, and would create “an artificial situation”. In the US, he adds, such meetings are regarded as more suspicious. “Fortunately, as far as I am concerned, we don’t have that situation here.”
At the Free University of Brussels (VUB), the response is much the same. Asked if VUB would introduce such a ban, rector Caroline Pauwels says: “No, certainly not. Every university must work that out on their own. Making such a rule, in our opinion, turns everyone into a suspect.”
A Pandora’s box
The point of private meetings, she says, is to create a sense of trust and confidence between lecturers and students. With a ban in place, “you have no privacy, and in the case of a difficult emotional discussion, it’s appropriate that nobody else can watch and listen”.
There are also concerns that implementing such a ban would be the equivalent of opening a Pandora’s box. Antwerp University (UAntwerp) also has no plan to adopt the policy, says spokesperson Peter De Meyer.
“Students who don’t want to be alone during an exam can already ask the ombudsman to go with him or her,” he explains. “We think it’s unnecessary to regulate everything. If you do so, you’d need a regulation that says it’s forbidden for a male professor and a female student to use an elevator at the same time.”
According to Deziron, the recommendation has been widely misunderstood. It does not, she says, constitute an all-out ban, but rather suggests that such meetings should not be held in offices with the door closed. “We don’t want to say that they cannot be alone. What we are saying is that there should be an open culture where everyone is responsible for what he or she does.”
One-to-one meetings, she adds, could be held in a space that is more open. “A room with an open door or glass windows. This has nothing to do with mistrust and everything to do with openness.”
Breaking the silence
Another difficult issue is how such behaviour can be defined and what actions constitute crossing the line. Since statistics suggest that cases of sexual harassment are underreported, experts say, people who have been subject to intimidating behaviour need to be encouraged to come forward.
Deziron says this is why the report, which takes a very broad definition of unwanted behaviour, including what people write in emails or on social media, suggests an awareness campaign. Identifying such behaviour will be the subject of the campaign, which will include videos and posters that provide students and staff with situational judgements.
Some things are in the grey zone, and no one tells these people to stop and that their behaviour is not funny
“We mean behaviour that results in an uncomfortable feeling,” Deziron says. “Some things are in the grey zone, and no one tells these people to stop and that their behaviour is not funny. That’s why we want to work on the campaigns and why we suggest the situational judgement tests.”
According to Deziron, tackling endemic sexism in any workplace is most universally achieved by looking at the recruitment process of the people who work there. “I think that it has to start with the selection of people who work at universities,” she says. “This is where the difference can be made.”
This recommendation, she adds, is one of the most important in the report, albeit largely overshadowed by the discussions over one-to-one meetings.
The quota question
The recruitment process at universities, she continues, is lacking, considering that academic staff must not only conduct research but also teach and coach students. “Professors are selected based on their academic intelligence and the number of papers they have published, without considering their interpersonal skills. We regret very much that no one talks about this.”
If recruiters were to consider other skills, like the ability to educate, coach and communicate, Deziron adds, “then maybe more women would feel attracted to the job and would have a much better chance”.
She believes in quotas for female staff. Since they already exist for company boards, where one in three members must be female, she sees no reason why universities should not adopt a similar approach. “Quotas would at least make them look for women and see if there is a woman who they can encourage to apply and support,” she says.
But opinions on the issue are divided. At VUB, Pauwels says that as part of a gender action plan started in 2014, women must make up at least one-third of the selection, evaluation and promotion committees. It’s not quotas, she adds, but part of VUB’s plan to “strive for gender balance”.
‘Everyone must do their part’
But not everyone believes such efforts are necessary. Last month, KU Leuven made headlines when it announced that for the first time ever it had achieved gender parity in its 2016 appointment rounds. The following day, the press was full of criticism for the claim, reporting that there is still a huge disparity among the teaching staff.
“We are on the right track with what we have achieved,” says Torfs. “I’m very proud to say that we achieved it without using quotas, but by still using academic excellence as a criterion.”
In his opinion, quotas, like the ban on one-to-one meetings, would create an artificial situation. “The balance can only be achieved gradually,” he says.
Some people who were initially against it now want to know more about it
Education minister Hilde Crevits has asked the joint council of Flemish universities and university colleges to develop guidelines on approaching the “delicate matter”. The council has already formed a group of stakeholders to work on this topic.
UGent, meanwhile, is examining the report’s recommendations and is discussing with its staff whether and how to implement them. The report, Deziron says, is garnering interest.
“Some people who were initially against it now want to know more about it,” she says. “We hope that other universities or higher education institutions will give us the opportunity to talk about the proposed measures.”
As for overcoming sexual discrimination and preventing harassment, Pauwels says she is confident that it can be achieved. A change in attitude, adds the VUB rector, was already visible when students across the campus discussed the topic recently.
“We have to do it step by step, and everyone must do their part,” she says. “There is still work to be done, but we can do it.”
Photo: Rob Stevens/KU Leuven
