Research reveals scale of sexual harassment in universities

In Bishkek’s universities in Kyrgyzstan, debate societies are places where students hone their oratory skills, put the world to rights and forge strong friendships. But in recent times, their reputation as safe spaces has come into question as women speak up about sexual harassment in the clubs, writes Aigerim Turgunbaeva for Eurasianet.

One female member recounted her experience of sexual violence on the debate circuit in a closed group last year set up by victims on the Russian social media network VKontakte. The wave of testimonies in the group rocked some of the capital’s best-recognised clubs and saw the student-run institutions set up ‘equity committees’ to address the problem. But earlier this year it emerged that her abuser, implicated by multiple women in the discussions, had made a return to the debate circuit.

The scale of sexual harassment in Kyrgyz universities was captured in research carried out last year by Nurzhan Estebes and Cholpon Badysheyeva as part of a donor-funded human rights training programme. Of 355 women surveyed nationwide, half had experienced some form of pressure to have sex during their time at university. In 68% of cases the harasser was a male classmate. A quarter of the time it was a teacher; sometimes it was administrative staff or a member of top management.
Full report on the Eurasianet site