/ground-report/media/post_banners/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/What-is-Harvards-Prof-John-Camaroff-sexual-harassment-case.jpg)
Ground Report | New Delhi: Harvard sexual harassment case; Professor John Comaroff is accused of sexually abusing students over several years, conduct that the university tolerated. A Harvard doctoral student, Margarita Czerwienski, together with two other colleagues, filed a lawsuit against that American university "for its indifference to the pattern of harassment and retaliation of the Anthropology professor, John Comaroff against the students" who stated that he committed sexual abuse.
“This is a case of Harvard's decade-long failure to protect students from sexual abuse and career-ending retaliation. Harvard Anthropology Professor John Comaroff is a renowned scholar and a gatekeeper in the field of his,” the lawsuit report stated.
Similarly, the signatories, who also include Lilia Kilburn and Amulya Mandava, stressed that said academic used that power and his position at Harvard for years to exploit the aspiring academic student body.
The explosive lawsuit filed against Harvard pulls back the curtain on what decades of these practices look like in academia, as it details specific allegations against anthropology professor John Comaroff and offers a shameful indictment of "Harvard's decade-long failure to protect students from career-ending sexual abuse and retaliation.”
In the context of #MeToo, the Harvard case points a way forward: it clarifies why sexual violence is pervasive in academia and what can be done to change it. The lawsuit links sexual harassment to other abuses of power and exposes the blatant injustice of the Harvard process. It has the potential to hold Harvard accountable for knowing more and doing better.
By naming an institution responsible, the case also represents a watershed moment in the #MeToo movement. Leverage collective credibility to expose a systemic problem that requires a structural solution to ensure accountability.
Comaroff is accused of kissing Kilburn on the mouth without her consent, squeezing her thigh in public and telling her she could be raped or killed in parts of Africa for having a same-sex relationship, according to the suit.
Kilburn was the subject of a "continuing nightmare that included more forced kisses, constant invitations to socialize alone off-campus, and coercive control," the text added. The allegations against Comaroff were initially published in the university's newspaper, The Harvard Crimson, more than a year ago, according to The New York Times.
Comaroff is on administrative leave after an investigation concluded last month that she had violated Harvard's harassment policy, the New York Times notes, although she has not been found guilty of non-consensual sexual contact. The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, describes the "sanctions as limited and temporary." Harvard University's communication office did not respond to AFP's request for comment.
The University of California will pay nearly $250 million to 203 women who say they were abused by the school's gynaecologist, authorities said Tuesday. James Heaps was attached to the University of Los Angeles (UCLA) for 35 years, caring for thousands of patients.
Hundreds of lawsuits alleging that UCLA deliberately hid cases of sexual abuse from patients and allowed it to continue to have access to victims for years. In a settlement filed in a Los Angeles court, the university agreed to pay $243.6 million to 203 women who say they were abused by Heaps. "Heaps' alleged behaviour is reprehensible and contrary to the values of the University," a statement said Tuesday.
"Our main and most important obligation will always be with the communities we serve, and we hope that this agreement is a step forward that contributes to the whistleblowers being able to heal and close cycles."
"We admire the courage of the complainants," the text continued. The settlement follows another signed by the University of Michigan, which has agreed to pay $490 million to hundreds of students and athletes who were sexually abused by university doctor Richard Anderson.
Michigan State University also reached a million-dollar settlement with 300 people who were abused by Dr Larry Nassar, who also treated members of the United States women's Olympic gymnastics team. The University of Southern California announced in March of last year that it had reached three settlements totalling $1.1 billion with hundreds of students sexually abused by a school gynaecologist.
You can connect with Ground Report on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Whatsapp and Subscribe to our YouTube channel. For suggestions and writeups mail us at [email protected]
Also Read
