To enforce this resolution, President Rianne Letschert signed Amnesty International’s Let’s talk about Yes-manifesto last Wednesday. The human rights organisation drew up the manifesto last year after they completed their survey in Dutch higher education and it appeared that almost one in ten female students experience rape.
The manifesto focuses on reducing sexual misconduct and better counselling for victims. The university hopes to achieve the first via workshops for students, such as bystander training. For victims, there must be clear and accessible procedures for filing a report and support services. Student-facing employees are going to receive training on how to act in case of signs of sexual violence.
Letschert, who is a professor of victimology and regularly deals with victims of sexual violence, emphasised that efforts made by the university are very important. “From the discipline I work in, I know all too well how much suffering victims experience. Certainly in the case of students, who are at a vulnerable phase in their lives. The perpetrators are often acquaintances, fellow students. That is extremely confronting and affects your faith in humanity.”
Private setting
After the Vrije Universiteit and Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, the UM is the third educational institute to sign the Amnesty manifesto. Dagmar Oudshoorn, chairwoman of Amnesty Nederland and present at the signing last Wednesday, hopes that other institutes will follow this example. “Universities must create safe environments for their students. It is good to see that Maastricht University is now taking responsibility.”
At the same time, Utrecht University and TU Delft have already stated that they will not sign. “This type of sexual violence almost always takes place in a private setting, and the impression should not be created that higher education institutes can solve this by themselves,” a UU spokesperson explained to university magazine DUB.
This is not a reason for Letschert not to sign. “Our report showed that more than 60 per cent of the victims of sexual violence know their abuser from the UM. Then you can’t say: it happens at home, so it is not our responsibility. Of course, we cannot solve this by ourselves. But we will have to look at what more we can do as a university, just like other parties will have to do.”
Compulsory training
Even before the reports by the UM and Amnesty were published, there were plans in Maastricht to collaborate with the police, municipality and the Centre for Sexual Violence (Centrum Seksueel Geweld, CSG) regarding this subject. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was pushed to the background. Letschert is now hoping for renewed momentum. “Such collaboration is important for a successful approach. As a university, for example, we cannot and don’t want to take the place of the police.”
She also wants a discussion to be started at the university. “Just signing a document changes nothing. Ultimately, there must be a cultural shift. That is only possible if we dare to talk about this subject.”
Part of that is a debate about compulsory training for students and employees. Is there enough support for that? According to Letschert, compulsory courses for employees are a sensitive subject at the moment because of the tremendous pressure of work. That is different for student tutors. “They already receive training anyway, so it may be possible to include this subject. Discussing this subject must eventually become mainstream.”