JNU Circular on Sexual Harassment Victims Draws Ire Students Protest
New Delhi: A circular by the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) for a counseling session on sexual harassment, asking girls “how to draw a solid line between themselves and their male friends”, drew ire from student organisations. who said it was going to embarrass the victim. The Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) of JNU has uploaded the circular on the varsity’s website saying that it will hold a counseling session on sexual harassment on January 17. It also said that such sessions would be conducted on a monthly basis. Also Read – JNUEE 2021: NTA Releases Final Answer Keys at nta.ac.in Learn Steps to Download
Under the subheading “Why counseling sessions are needed”, the circular states that it will make students aware of sexual harassment. It also said that the students are being counseled during the orientation program and at the beginning of each academic year, they are required to refresh their knowledge about it from time to time. “There are many such cases in the ICC where there is sexual harassment between close friends. Boys usually cross the thin line (sometimes unintentionally, sometimes unintentionally) between friendship jokes and sexual harassment. The girls think how to draw a solid line (between them and their male friends) to avoid any such harassment (sic),” read the circular. Also Read – Viral Video: JNU Security Guards ‘ Danced on ‘Julie-Julie’, rocked the internet with her talent | Watch
It also said that the ICC has a zero tolerance policy towards any form of sexual harassment. “Many cases have been successfully disposed of in this academic year. In addition to its normal course of action, the ICC, JNU, wishes to initiate a counseling session on a monthly basis for all interested students who do and do not wish to do with respect to sexual harassment,” read the circular. Also Read – JNUEE PhD Result 2021 Declared at jnuee.jnu.ac.in | Download Through Direct Link
It said that students will get to know what sexual harassment is and its possible consequences in the sessions. Listing the benefits of these sessions, the university said that “the number of sexual harassment cases will definitely come down”. “Clear any confusion relating to sexual harassment. Any person may seek answers to his/her queries relating to sexual harassment,” the circular said. It added that after receiving 20 such forms to register for the season, the ICC will conduct such events on a monthly basis.
Condemning the circular, Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union president Aishe Ghosh said it was a victim-shaming remark.
“The ICC makes a blatant victim-blaming remark in JNU where it ‘asks women to draw a solid line not to be harassed by their male members’. ICC has repeatedly made such regressive remarks in JNU or conducted itself in a way to moral police,” she said in a statement, adding that such remarks create a space where such lines Harassment will be rampant and will have become an unsafe place for women.
Left-affiliated All India Students’ Union (AISA) concurred with Ghosh and called the counseling session a sham.
“The ICC of JNU has come out with a notice regarding counseling session for JNU students regarding sexual harassment. In one of the reasons for the need for such a session, the ICC writes: ‘Girls seem to know how to draw a solid line (between them and their male friends) to avoid any such harassment’. This exposes the attitude of the victim which the ICC is alleging,” the student body said.
“This counseling session is a sham and will only lead to making JNU an unsafe place for women,” it said.
The JNU administration at its 269th Executive Council meeting in September 2017 replaced the Gender Sensitization Committee against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH) with the ICC, a move that was widely criticized by student and teacher bodies, besides women’s rights organisations. Was. Both Ghosh and AISA demanded reinstatement of GSCASH.
