Members of committees tasked with handling sexual harassment cases at Indian universities face many restrictions on?their ability to?protect individuals seeking their help, scholars have warned.

In a recent statement, India¡¯s national regulator, the University Grants Commission, reminded institutions that they must have an internal complaints commission (ICC) ¨C but academics who spoke to Times Higher Education stressed that the mere existence of such bodies did?not ensure that universities handled cases of?misconduct seriously.

While most ¨C if not all ¨C universities have such committees, ¡°there are many limitations that ICCs face in processing cases satisfactorily, even where they are functioning¡±, said Ravinder Kaur, a sociology professor at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi.

She said this was particularly the case when there was a?power differential between the accuser and the accused.

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Anamika Sinha, an associate professor at the Goa Institute of Management who has studied sexual harassment in institutions, noted that even professors chairing such committees ¨C who are often women ¨C are themselves vulnerable to harassment.

¡°The head of the committee, a woman, is already under pressure to comply with the patriarchy to survive and save [her] job. So if she defends the victim, she will be the victim herself soon,¡± said Dr Sinha.

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¡°Most thus play by the [rules of the] coterie even though they know what is right. The training, procedures are all just a checklist.¡±

Dr Sinha was also sceptical that institutions took the committees seriously.

¡°More often than not, people are put on committees to balance administrative roles,¡± she said, adding: ¡°Committees are made, but they seldom meet, and there is a nonsensical approach to handling things.¡±

Vineeta Bal, an emeritus professor of biology at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune, agreed.

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¡°Having a committee and having a functional committee are really different things,¡± she said.

¡°There is a lot that needs to be done, and it begins with the composition of the ICC,¡± said Professor Bal, noting that sometimes, the individuals appointed as committee members have a ¡°very superficial¡± understanding of gender issues because they come from purely legal backgrounds.

¡°As result, they do not have enough perspective and do not take things seriously,¡± she said, comparing the scene to family courts in which complaining couples are told ¡°you¡¯d better get along with each other¡±.

Even in the academic context, complainants are told ¡°there is no?evidence, this is not significant ¨C all these kinds of platitudes¡±, she said.

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While India has yet to come a long way in how it handles complaints of sexual harassment or violence in its institutions, with sexual misconduct still a ¡°major, major problem¡±, she did say that at least in terms of awareness of the issue, there have been signs of progress.

A top-down emphasis on committees to address the issue was a step in the right direction, said Professor Bal. ¡°The fact that the process has begun is in itself an achievement,¡± she said.

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pola.lem@timeshighereducation.com