Number of sexual harassment cases reported to universities has increased a lot

Judging from figures obtained by the EenVandaag TV show, the number of people reporting sexual harassment to universities has risen considerably over a two-year period.

The most recent figures EenVandaag was able to obtain were from 2018, when a total of 101 sexual harassment cases were reported to Dutch universities, up from 52 in 2016. This means that the number of reports nearly doubled in those two years. The university that received the largest number of reports (22) was the University of Amsterdam. For its part, Erasmus University received seventeen reports, up from ten in 2016.

Erasmus University also saw an increase in the number of cases of ‘undesirable behaviour’ (i.e. general harassment). Forty-one cases of harassment were reported in 2016. Sixty-six cases were reported in 2018, which constitutes a 61-percent increase.

Approximately 60 percent of the reports were filed by students, while the remaining cases were reported by staff.

'Shocked'

Alex Tess Rutten of the National Student Union (LSVb) told NPO’s current affairs show that she was ‘shocked’ by the figures. “It’s outrageous that we are unable to create a safe learning and work environment at universities. These figures once again emphasise the importance of spending more money on creating a sense of security in higher education.”

An EUR spokesperson confirmed that the figures EenVandaag presented for Erasmus University were correct, but did point out that quite a few of the reports included in the number did not actually result in the lodging of formal complaints.