Study: Students sexually harassed

Sexual harassment is rife at universities and third-level colleges, but 93 percent of students are unaware of laws or regulations prohibiting it, according to a survey by Charles University.

More than 800 students at 11 universities and colleges of higher education were questioned about harassment in the survey, which also found 78 percent had been victims of verbal harassment or distasteful comments about their breast size and "accidental touching" during exams or faculty parties.

The study is the first since the Anti-Discrimination Law - which covers harassment - came into effect Sept. 1.

"Sexual harassment does not concern only women, but women are more often the victims - or, at least, they are more willing to discuss it," said Helena Skálová, a manager with Gender Studies, a nongovernmental organization based in the Czech Republic. "Sexual harassment at universities and colleges is presently tackled by the Anti-Discrimination Law, which came into force Sept. 1. Before then, sexual harassment was not covered by law."

Skálová said the situation is alarming and that "it is important to draw attention to it and to inform victims ? about their rights and ways of protecting themselves."

Harassment in third-level education is a blind spot in the Czech Republic, said Irena Smetáčková from the Psychology Department of the Faculty of Education at Charles University, who co-authored the report with Petr Pavlík from the university's Department of Gender Studies.

"Unlike at Western universities, nobody has really looked into this issue at Czech colleges," she said. "Until now, there has not been a study available that indicates how widespread it is."

The survey questioned 822 students and found 3 percent had experienced violent sexual harassment from teachers or professors. The Czech Republic has approximately 370,000 students, which means about 11,000 have suffered this level of harassment.

Seventy-eight percent of those questioned had experienced verbal harassment, such as lewd jokes or comments about their bodies, and four out of every five students said they knew someone who had experienced some form of harassment. But one of the most shocking figures is that 93 percent did not realize it was illegal or that there were laws to prevent it.

It is also important to define just what sexual harassment is, Smetáčková said.

"It is not just a direct sexual offer," she said. "It includes offensive sexual jokes and commentary on the person's looks - basically anything that can humiliate a person on account of gender."

Third-level institutions have been slow to tackle the problem, she added.

"The most serious aspect is that universities and colleges do not consider this a problem, and there is a very low awareness of sexual harassment," Smetáčková said. "The onus is on the head of any institution to make sure there is a clear, definite anti-sexual harassment policy. ? I suppose it is the immaturity of our society, which has a tendency to marginalize issues regarding gender."

Harassment is nothing less than an abuse of power, Pavlík said.

"From our survey, it is clear that it not only includes harassing text messages and invitations out, but also comments on outfits and shape of breasts," he said. "The person then suddenly faces a dilemma: to deal with it and possibly get into trouble with the professor, or ignore it and get a degree."

- Klára Jiřičná contributed to this report.

Tom Clifford can be reached at
tclifford@praguepost.com