The harassment incident that happened on the campus of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in the wee hours of March 31 begs the question, why are such cases at this central university on the rise?
It may be recalled that JNU is witnessing a round of protests against the safety measures that are being taken on campus as purportedly a student and her friend were sexually harassed by a group of four people, out of which two are students of the institution. The Chief Proctor, Professor Kumar had deemed it as a case of 'eve-teasing' given the nature of the incident.
Though Prof Sudhir Kumar, Chief Proctor, informed that a committee has been formed to look into the matter, the survivor is on a strike outside the North Gate of the campus against the inaction of the administration.
The second-year BA student from the Centre for Chinese and South East Asian Studies (CC&SEAS), who faced the recent harassment, alleges that there are several instances which prove that these harassment cases at JNU are not taken seriously, which is subduing the voice of these women who face such forms of violence on the campus.
"The vice-chancellor proudly proclaims that she is the first female VC of JNU, but why are women's grievances on the campus being ignored and neglected? Why are there no concerns about our safety inside the campus?" questions the victim.
The incident as it happened, as per the survivor
According to the survivor, who was on a nightly stroll with her friend on JNU's Ring Road, she was heckled by a group of four people seated in a vehicle. "It happened around 1.30 am on March 31, we were catcalled by the four accused. They passed sexually regressive remarks, made other statements and threatened us as well."
Among the perpetrators were two students of JNU and two outsiders.
The survivor further alleges that the only female in the group was abrasive towards her friend and pushed him during a heated exchange between them. The complainant also added that while she and her friend tried to reason with them it bore no fruit.
Lapses in security?
While there are guards stationed at various gates and points of the university, the complainant claims that a major question mark hangs over their efficiency. She told EdexLive that after the incident occurred, the security guards stationed nearby had allegedly let go of the accused. "I had to provide the guards with all my details such as the identity card, hostel name, room number and so on, but they did not inquire about their names (perpetrators) or any other details," she claims.
Not only this, she further accuses the chief security guard of misguiding and misinforming them.
"When we approached the guard, he purportedly said that a written complaint was already submitted. But soon after, he changed his statement saying that it was done verbally. He could not even give us the correct names of the accused," she alleges.
The student says that the information was crucial at that moment as it would have helped in the fast-tracking of the inquiry process.
Delays after delays
To bring the matter to justice, the victim took the decision to approach the administration, during which, she said she was kept waiting outside the Chief Proctor's Office to formally submit a written complaint.
Foreseeing the situation, the complainant alleges that security was tightened in the administrative block, and they were not allowed to meet the chief proctor. After a persistent struggle, the complainant, along with her friend from the time of the incident with the newly elected General Secretary of JNU Students' Union, Priyanshi Arya, were allowed to formally record a statement.
But this was not the end of the struggle as the complainant alleged that the three proctors present were callous towards her cause. "They were constantly trying to intimidate us by not letting us speak and asserting their opinion. They kept repeating that it was not a case of sexual assault and hence, it would not be considered as one."
She also sent a formal email to the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) of the institution, she added.
The protest
The complainant, along with the students of JNU, have been sitting on an indefinite strike since 6 pm, Monday, April 1. The complainant alleged that due to the inaction and delay from the administration's side, she has decided to continue with the protests till further action is taken.
As per a few demands put forth by the survivor, she said that the case needs to be resolved immediately. In addition to this, she demanded that the registrations of the two accused students should be cancelled and that they should be expelled from the hostel. Plus, all of the four accused are to be declared as out-of-bound from the campus premises.
In addition to this, she also exhorts the administration to inform the students about the jurisdiction of the security guards, and the role they play in the safekeeping of the campus, as she found them to be non-cooperative when she approached them after the incident.
She further wanted the ICC to make public all the cases that they dealt with in the past year and bring transparency to their process of conducting such investigations.
JNUSU demands action
A formal letter of complaint was also submitted by the members of JNUSU to the chief proctor regarding the case. The letter states three demands as follows
1) A restraining order be issued against one of the perpetrators. This is because the survivor and the perpetrator reside in the same hostel and his presence has been a continual threat to her.
2) The other two accused in the case are to be declared out-of-bounds from the campus limits as they are not a part of the institution.
3) The car belonging to the perpetrators must be seized immediately since it has been used to harass female students on a regular basis.
A protest march has also been scheduled for today, April 2, at 9 pm from the Sabarmati Hostel to the North Gate of the JNU campus for the reinstation of the Gender Sensitisation Committee Against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH) which may help in curbing the rising cases of sexual harassment in the campus and the dissolution of the ICC, which they allege is an inefficient instrument of the university.
