According to the newspaper De Limburger (Kluveld declined to comment to Observant), she was told that her home address was “easy to find” and to “watch your back when you’re out in public, you’re a legitimate target”. Another user called her a “self-loathing Indonesian/Surinamese Zionist”.
By reporting these threats, UM is following the protocol established by SafeScience, a platform and reporting centre for researchers facing threats, hate messages or intimidation linked to their work. SafeScience connects researchers with people within their institutions who can help them. Kluveld’s case was directed to UM’s Integral Safety coordinator, Mireille van Emmerik, who reported the threats on behalf of the university. According to Van Emmerik, this is only the second case at UM reported through SafeScience since the platform’s launch in late 2022; the first was not reported to the police.
"Tip of the iceberg"
It remains unclear how often researchers at Maastricht and other universities face such intimidation. SafeScience received “several dozen” reports in 2023, though this is likely “just the tip of the iceberg”, a spokesperson stated. Incidents reported directly to supervisors, HR or the police are not included in SafeScience’s figures.
Something similar applies to the External Intimidation, Hatred and Threats against Academics Monitor published earlier this year. In 2023, universities took security measures for 59 researchers. None were from UM, but “that doesn’t mean UM staff members do not receive threats”, as spokesperson Koen Augustijn explained at the time. Not all incidents are reported.