In the 447-2022 school year, 2021 complaints, anonymous inquiries and rumors about sexual harassment and abuse were forwarded by academic institutions to the Committee for the Advancement of the Status of Women and Gender Equality and to the Authority for the Advancement of the Status of Women. This is an increase from the previous year, when the institutions reported 298. However, 108 institutions insisted in their reports that they did not experience sexual harassment or abuse. Many of them are attended by thousands of male and female students.
Today (Tuesday afternoon), the Committee for the Advancement of the Status of Women, headed by MK Pnina Tamano Shata, will hold a special discussion, during which the annual report on sexual harassment and sexual abuse in academia will be presented. The reports submitted by law by universities, colleges, institutes, etc., to the Committee and the Authority for the Advancement of the Status of Women contain a report detailing the various actions taken by institutions to prevent sexual harassment in their field, as well as the number of complaints submitted to the institution's supervisor and the manner in which they are handled. The report, which summarizes the 2021-2022 academic year, also presents a comparative view of previous years, indicating that each year more and more educational institutions submit the required reports.
Harassment and sexual assault (illustration), photo: GettyImages
A segmentation conducted by the Authority for the Advancement of the Status of Women reveals, as noted, that there was an increase in the number of complaints filed compared to the previous year, and that all the institutions that reported to the committee and the authority appointed women responsible for preventing sexual harassment, but only 79% of them underwent the full training required by law. It also emerged that 84% of complaints of sexual harassment in institutions were received by women, compared to 16% complaints by men. Most of the complainants/complainants/applicants were male and female students. 164 complaints were filed against male and female students, 106 complaints were filed against academic staff, 53 against an external entity, 47 against administrative staff, and 40 were filed against external workers. 80% of the complaints were directed at men.
University of Haifa // Photo Archive: Michelle Dot Com,
When examining the nature of the complaints, it can be seen that most of them dealt with the issue of 'disturbing environment/atmosphere', another high percentage dealt with the issue of 'repeated references directed at a person, focusing on his sexuality'. Other major issues that were repeated in the complaints were, inter alia, 'derogatory or derogatory references directed at a person in relation to their sex or sexuality, including their sexual orientation'. There were also complaints of indecent acts, sexual advances, inappropriate touching, sexual assault, harassment on social media and more. For example, it was reported that at the University of Haifa, a lecturer forwarded sexual advances to female students and sent them Watzps with love songs.
At Ben-Gurion University, it was reported anonymously that a literature lecturer spoke about sexual content, despite requests from female students to stop doing so. An anonymous complaint at the Mossad exposed another case of abuse of authority by a senior Mossad official who had a relationship of authority and as a result his tenure as head of a department was terminated. At the Hebrew University, a faculty member resigned following a derogatory reference to a female student, and Ono Academic College reported that a student posted an intimate photo of a student studying with him in a class WhatsApp group.
Pnina Tamano Shata, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Committee Chairperson MK Pnina Tamano-Shata: "The committee is determined to combat the phenomenon of sexual harassment and abuse in the public sphere in general and in the academic sphere in particular. Under-reporting does not indicate the absence of a problem, but rather fear, fear and failure to provide tools and a protected atmosphere to the complainants. This struggle must be a top priority for the institutions, and the goal is to harness them." Minister for the Advancement of the Status of Women May Golan: "The resounding ruling of the late Judge Mishael Cheshin in the rape case at Kibbutz Shomrat is remembered mainly because of his unequivocal statement 'When a woman says no, she means no.' This was true then and even more relevant today, even in the corridors of academia. The ministry under my leadership is committed to this important mission, and I will act accordingly."
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