JNU has received 151 complaints of sexual harassment since 2017, data shows

Latest update:30 Nov 2024, 10:54 IST

JNU claims to have resolved nearly 98 percent of complaints, with only three cases currently under investigation.

According to data obtained through an RTI application, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has recorded 151 complaints of sexual harassment since 2017, when its Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) was replaced by the Gender-Based Anti-Harassment Committee (GSCASH).

The university says it has resolved nearly 98 percent of those complaints, with only three cases currently under investigation.

However, when asked about the nature of the complaints and the action taken against the accused, UNU declined to provide information, citing confidentiality.

The decision to dismantle GSCASH in 2017 was a contentious issue as the JNU Students’ Union and the Teachers’ Association continuously demanded its reinstatement.

The association says the ICC lacks the transparency and autonomy provided by GSCASH and operates under administrative influence that undermines confidence in its processes.

The data shows that the highest number of cases in a single year was recorded in 2018-19 when 63 complaints were filed. Before the establishment of the ICC in 2016, JNU had received a record 38 cases.

During the years of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a significant decrease, with only six complaints reported between 2019 and 2021, likely due to reduced activity on campus.

However, their number has increased in recent years, with 30 complaints each in 2022-23 and 2023-24.

Seventeen cases were reported in 2017-18, 63 in 2018-19, five in 2019-20, one in 2020-21 and five in 2021-22, the data showed.

In 2015, the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) noted that JNU had the highest number of sexual harassment complaints among the city’s educational institutions, with 51 cases reported in the three years between 2013 and 2015. This accounted for approximately 50 percent of such complaints among Delhi’s educational institutions during that period.

Recently, several cases have brought JNU under close attention.

In April, a second-year student staged an indefinite strike for 12 consecutive days on campus, blocking the university’s main entrance after allegedly “inaction” on her complaint of “sexual harassment” to university officials. The survivor and fans were later punished by the university for organizing the protest.

In October, 47 female students filed a joint complaint with the ICC regarding alleged sexual harassment and violence that occurred during a freshman party on campus.

Similarly, JNUSU said in April that a student at the university’s Center for China and Southeast Asian Studies was sexually harassed by her professor and the university administration’s inaction on her complaint forced her to leave the campus.

The incidents led to mass protests and raised questions about the ICC’s handling of complaints.

(This story was not edited by News18 staff and was published from the syndicated news agency channel – PTI)