Universities do not deal properly with harassment – Survey

ERR 08 February 2020

According to current affairs show Aktuaalne kaamera, the first survey looking at the handling of harassment in Estonian universities, including that based on gender as well as sexual harassment, has found deficiencies in procedures or safeguards, reports ERR.

The survey was conducted at six public universities in the country and polled 1,500 people online, according to ERR. However, the sample was reportedly not representative enough to make a generalisation about the entire student population, but nonetheless revealed most respondents had experienced harassment at some point.

“Gender-based harassment is often linked to gender inequality, and often also to discrimination,” said the study’s director, Ehti Järv. “With sexual harassment, it’s easier to spot since it often involves some form of physical contact,” Järv added. Harassment has an inherent power-based relationship, Järv noted, and the study demonstrated that the perpetrators of gender-based harassment and discrimination were predominantly male staff members at the higher education institutions. However, sexual harassment was more the preserve of students, the report said.
Full report on the ERR site

Receive email updates from UWN

Global newsletters    Africa newsletters    Other
    (other includes related events and webinars)

Data will be processed according to our standard terms & conditions.

Sponsored Article

Commitment, growth and shared lessons in African HE

Ashesi University staff

The Education Collaborative, an initiative started by Ashesi University in Ghana in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, is one of Africa’s biggest platforms of higher education stakeholders. Since 2017, the Collaborative has led a new model for collaboration in African higher education that is helping to grow the strength of the ecosystem.

Sponsored Article

Research focuses on production of jet fuel from halophytes

UAE University staff

With an eye to developing a clean, alternative aviation fuel to reduce carbon emissions, researchers at the United Arab Emirates University have been focusing on the production of jet fuel from sustainable resources such as halophytes, which are salt-tolerant plants that could be cultivated on a wider scale in the region’s coastal areas.

Sponsored Article

The value of being human: How teachers can work alongside AI

Michael Milligan

Artificial intelligence is now a part of our evolution in technology and teachers need to be encouraged to find ways to bring AI into the classroom and have students use it in a way that is beneficial to them in the long term.

Sponsored Article

Ground-breaking research on seawater biodesalination

UAE University staff

As water scarcity reaches critical levels globally, a research team at the United Arab Emirates University seeks to revolutionise seawater desalination practices, offering a path to mitigate water scarcity while championing environmental preservation.