Wits Senate releases statement on sexual harassment

Statement from the senate relating to sexual harassment at Wits

The allegations of the nature and extent of sexual harassment, as reported in the Sunday Times and in social media, at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg are deeply concerning.

Important questions are being raised regarding processes for addressing sexual harassment at Wits, and we the Senate, as the University's highest academic authority, feel compelled to comment on the present learning environment at our institution.

In higher education, it is imperative to the success of the academic project that students feel safe to explore, experiment, create, and innovate. Integral to fostering such a context is ensuring a lecturer-student relationship that is based on trust, integrity, and respect. Any violations of these principles have no place in our learning environment, and we as the University Senate stand firm in our intolerance of sexual harassment of any kind.

We believe that the learning environment at Wits is a safe space for students and are committed to ensuring that the culture and mechanisms required to foster this are put in place.

We believe that sexual harassment holds grave implications for the ability of the University to conduct its core mission. Any allegations must be taken seriously and investigated as a matter of priority. If the exposure of this incident and the creation of an environment in which people feel free to raise concerns leads to an apparent increase in reports, but ultimately a safer environment, we believe that this will be a positive outcome.

Universities in South Africa hold real potential to foster societal transformation and therefore maintain a special obligation to ensure that they are environments free from destructive practices such as sexual harassment. The current Wits sexual harassment policy is under review. We support strengthening this policy to ensure that issues are dealt with immediately, openly and with due process. We support creating mechanisms that ensure investigations are sufficiently resourced and evidence appropriately and proactively collected. This problem cannot be resolved by denying or hiding incidences of sexual harassment. We must create an environment where students can report incidents without fear of reprisal and where there exists sufficient resources available to ensure our learning spaces are safe.

Senate, as the highest academic authority, pledges itself to support and monitor such a programme.