Gender-Based Harassment and Violence in Higher Educational Institutions: A Case from Sri Lanka

Abstract

The main objective of this research is to examine the nature of gender-based harassment and violence faced by staff members and students in the ‘University of X’ in Sri Lanka. What are the causes of gender-based harassment and violence, and how does such behavior relate to gendered socialization and gendered performance? Theories related to gender, gendered socialization, and gender performance were used for collecting and analyzing data. The data collectors used instruments such as a questionnaire survey, case studies that map experiences of both men and women who experienced gender-based violence and harassment, and key informant interviews. The study found that both students and staff faced various types of gender-based harassment and violence, which make an immensely negative impact on their academic life. The root causes are gendered socialization, unequal power relations, gender identities, gender performance, and doing gender within the patriarchal structure of the University of X. Since more women and junior men keep quiet about such experiences than do senior staff and advanced students, the existing unequal relations, identities, gendered subjectivities, cultural norms, and values are constructed or reinforced by the university community, whether consciously or unconsciously. Combating gender-based harassment and violence may therefore require stepping out of the comfort zone, re-thinking some of the most fundamental socio-cultural beliefs, traditions, and practices rooted in ourselves, questioning the very foundation of our understanding of ourselves and our social relations, and, most importantly, changing our perceptions that may be gender discriminating—all in order to develop a culture in the university where equality, equity, and human rights are protected, promoted, and fulfilled.