Sexual harassment among students

Two out of three students in a survey by EM, indicate that they have experienced sexual harassment since studying at Erasmus University. They usually do not report it, also because they do not know where to go to.

In the past few months, Erasmus Magazine has been investigating sexual harassment among students. We spoke to dozens of students, interviewed experts, dived into reports, studies and procedures and developed a survey.

In the article below, we explain why we did this. In this extensive accountability statement, you can read more about how we approached it, which choices we made and who participated in the research.

Two out of three students indicate that they’ve had sexually transgressive experiences during their studies. At the same time, this is almost never reported to the university and students often do not know where they can report such experiences. Read the most important findings and the response of rector magnificus Annelien Bredenoord here:

Part 1: Almost everyone has a story about sexual harassment

In our survey, two out of three students indicate that they have had a sexually transgressive experience since studying at Erasmus University. In most cases, this concerns unwanted touching, sexually oriented remarks or street harassment. Dire cases are no exception and often incidents have consequences for mental wellbeing, social contacts or study results.

Part 2: 'The complaint procedure was a long and painful process'

A student reported transgressive behaviour that she experienced to the official complaint committee at the university. She recounts anonymously how the university dealt with her report. “They asked me why I didn’t push him away harder.”

Part 3: Why sexual harassment is usually not reported, and why that is a problem

Only a small part of the students who indicate that they have experienced sexual harassment report it to the university. They have all sorts of reasons for this, from shame and the feeling of being responsible to preferring to solve the problem themselves or the idea that reporting it has no use. But partly because of this, there is little insight into the extent of the problem. “It happens so often that it doesn’t feel worth reporting.”

Part 4: Why sexual communication is complicated

Students have a broadly shared definition of what they consider sexually transgressive. At the same time, this is not in line with their experiences and there are differences in how they think about giving and asking for consent. “Explicit sexual communication helps to avoid misunderstandings.”

In EM TV, presenter Tessa Hofland talks to editors Feba Sukmana and Tim Ficheroux about what they encountered during their investigation.

In the same broadcast, students talk about what they mean by sexually transgressive behavior and how they deal with such situations:

Editor-in-chief Wieneke Gunneweg explains how an idea to make a special about students and love led to the investigation into sexual harassment. “Five years after the start of the MeToo movement, the series of revelations about sexual harassment in the Dutch entertainment world and after two years of social distancing, a fluffy approach to this special didn’t feel right. Because sexual misconduct is everywhere, also at universities and among students.”