October 5, 2018:

National Law University, Delhi (NLU Delhi) is having its own #MeToo Movement, with Women Survivors calling out Sexual Harassment on Campus.

Number of Women students & Alumni took to Social Media to recount harrowing instances of 'Sexual Harassment' they were subject to by their Male Peers in the past.

One survivor wrote on Facebook,

“For the past few months I’ve grappled with questions of forgiveness. Not like you ever asked. But like I previously mentioned this has never just been about you. I wanted, and I needed closure. I tried really hard to forgive you knowing that I might be doing a disservice to the Sisterhood. I didn’t want the incident to define me, which is so common- while a woman is defined by the assault that was inflicted upon her, the abuser is portrayed as ‘inherently a good guy except for that one tiny lapse that one time’”

An excerpt from another’s testimony reads,

“Living with the trauma of harassment is not easy. What makes it worse is when the perpetrator approaches you to find out if you are the one who has filed a complaint against him…As if the trauma of the abuse and the guilt of not reporting was enough, congratulation, you now also have to deal with reliving the same again and again and again. Added to that is the knowledge that he has fabulously used his social capital to portray you as a liar and even gone to the extent of spreading rumors about you to save himself.”

A group of students from NLU Delhi issued a Statement in Solidarity with the Survivors who mustered the courage to Publicize their experiences.

Statement reads,“We believe that it is high time that supposedly ‘woke’ men be held accountable for their actions, including ‘innocent locker room talk. It is high time perpetrators stopped getting away with their heinous conduct owing to the social capital they hold on campus, or by offering elaborate excuses of inebriation. It is high time that friends and supporters of these men realize that protecting them and maligning the survivor makes you part of the problem, and an accomplice."

Institutional Mechanisms on Campus have repeatedly failed Victims of Sexual Harassment previously, & attempting to silence them by calls for ‘formal complaints’ is unacceptable conduct.

How can the perpetrators claim Fair Trial when the system is rigged for victims to fail? The autonomy of the Victims is violated once in the act of violence, nobody gets to question the autonomy they retain in how to react to this violence, be it staying silent, sharing experiences through word of mouth, sending an email, posting on Facebook or lodging a complaint.

Believing in Survivors of Sexual Harassment & supporting them is a low but very important standard to meet, and that’s all we ask for.”

The movement has prompted the University administration to take note. Vice-Chancellor Dr. Ranbir Singh has informed the students about preliminary measures taken to deal with sexual harassment on campus. These include appointment of mental health professionals with expertise in sexual violence and assigning a number of faculty members for victims of sexual harassment to approach. Dr. Singh has also invited suggestions from students on how to deal with these instances of harassment on campus. In an email sent to all batches, he states,

“Sexual harassment violates the most fundamental and cherished values that the University stands for. It also poses a serious challenge to our commitment to create an educational space and culture based on dignity, equal access, and mutual respect for all.”

While it remains to be seen what action the administration will take against the alleged harassers, the male students of the University have already felt the repercussions as a result of their peer’s actions. As first reported by Legally India, The Debating Society at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi has barred male participants from NLU Delhi for the 71st Mukarji Memorial Debate 2019, and the 7th ProAm Debate 2019.

Source: PTI

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