‘Proper anti-harassment laws not in place at Delhi University’
As St. Stephen’s College is in news for all the wrong reasons as a research scholar alleged that a professor had molested her, Delhi University’s Gender Studies Group has claimed the university does not have proper rules in place to deal with complaints of such nature.
The Gender Studies Group, which was established in the 1990s, is an independent, non-funded, university-wide students’ group. Teachers from various departments act as mentors to the group which takes up various surveys, campaigns and sensitisation programmes on gender issues. In the wake of the Stephen’s molestation incident, the group launched a campaign demanding revision of the existing anti-sexual harassment rules and regulations at the varsity. Last year, DU had scrapped its earlier sexual harassment policy (Ordinance XV-D) and brought in a new one in accordance with the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013.
“The internal complaints committees constituted in colleges have several anomalies. Firstly, there is no representation of students in the body. It is handled by the principal and the college employees, mostly teachers. Secondly, the DU ordinance on sexual harassment states that if the charges are not proved against the accused, action can be taken against the victim and hence it restrains majority people from coming out in the open about the harassment faced by them,” said a DU executive council member.
Ashley Tellis, who has taught at St. Stephen’s, Kirori Mal and Ramjas Colleges and has been raising the issue, says, “The Ordinance XV-D had been in operation for nearly 10 years and was one of the best policies in the country. There was representation from all levels — from the karamcharis to faculty. It was gender-neutral and also came with a broad definition of harassment.”
The group also claimed the new ordinance has no provision for student vs student complaints. “A student can only file a sexual harassment complaint against an employee, but not a fellow student. How weird is that Who says that molestation cannot be done by students. Where is a victim supposed to go in such a situation ” Apoorv Jain, a student and member of the group, said.
