Edited by: Malavika Suresh
TW: Mention of Sexual Harassment and Abuse
Dear Undergraduate Batch of 2024,
The first time one of you asked me about sexual harassment (SH) at Ashoka, I did not know how to react. I froze, the words getting caught inside my throat. It wasn’t for a lack of articulation, or for a lack of trying, or of discourse. This was something you needed to know, yet how could I even begin to explain the sheer magnitude of things to you? Of all that had happened in the past year? How could I, in the digital distance created by an online first year, even possibly begin to explain the harrowing culture of harassment even within our perceived safe spaces? Of the cracks that tore apart any illusions of having a sense of security in university?
I do not know how to tell you that 1 in every 4 students from the UG’22 and UG’21 batches and 1 in every 5 students from the ASP’20 batch have faced at least one form of sexual harassment. That is 25 and 20 percent of the current Ashokan population respectively. The spaces we inhabit have a shadow lurking behind; a prevalence worryingly teetering at the brink of normalization. Even then, numbers create emotional distance. Realize that attached with these numbers are real student lives—survivors who have had to live with the trauma that comes with facing sexual harassment and abuse. I know hearing this is extremely scary, but all I ask of you is to not turn a blind eye to all of this.
I do not know how to tell you of the ostracization and fear survivors have to face after coming out with their accounts. Vestiges of having to live with what happened, have to become constant reminders for them, because there seem to be abject refusals to understand the gravity of what they went through. Many survivors have had to face forms of coercion, the fear of retaliation, and gaslighting, both institutionally and interpersonally. To exacerbate this, for those holding marginalized identities, it even becomes a fight against those who accrue different forms of social capital. Understanding your own biases and positions of privilege in such situations can be a hard pill to swallow, but it is extremely crucial. Make sure you are engaging with compassion. Believe them when they tell you about what they went through.
I do not know how to tell you of the institutional lapses that fail survivors. If the outpouring of responses and accounts in Ashoka’s third wave of #MeToo are any indication, they show us how students have had to resort to creating spaces for themselves informally, when they are formally rendered unheard. The instances of abuse of power in Ashoka’s own Student Government can paint an even more dismal picture. In addition to this, 95% of respondents in Ashoka’s Sexual Harassment Climate Survey were mentioned as deciding to not report instances of SH. While part of it can be attributed to institutional lapses, it is also the lack of information about what constitutes SH that contributes to this statistic. The survey reported that the rate of experiences of reporting SH substantially increased when respondents were asked detailed questions about SH. This points to a large information gap which goes unaddressed, especially by the workshops conducted during O-Week. If you plan on engaging with Ashokan student politics, be aware of the past that certain parties have carried. Focus on educating yourself. Make sure you are not the person creating an unsafe space for others. Call harassers out and hold representatives accountable. More importantly, actually do the work in holding yourself accountable as concretely as possible.
I do not know how to tell you of the complicity of club culture in perpetuating harassment. None of our spaces exist in a vacuum. The culture around some clubs and societies has involved shielding of harassers, and has also given way for the assertion of extremely harmful power dynamics. Even when some clubs have tried to remove harassers, the nature of current policy makes it such that the club members themselves may end up facing repercussions. In light of this, you need to know of the past harm that some clubs as well as their members have caused survivors. It might be an uncomfortable question to ask, with an equally uncomfortable answer, but ask. It is absolutely imperative that you know of the spaces you’re engaging in and the ways in which they have given way to harassment. Ask club leadership about grievance redressal mechanisms. You need to know if they’re safe for you, and for others.
All of this being said, I do know to tell you one thing:
Don’t be apathetic.