Sexual Harassment in Universities: Silence in Academic Campuses about the Escalating Crime

The law is lenient and society often sees the victim as the perpetrator

Shatha (30 years old, a pseudonym) entered a master’s program after excelling in her undergraduate studies at a university in Baghdad. While working as a teaching assistant and ranking among the top students, she initially believed achieving her Ph.D., her greatest aspiration, would be straightforward. Unfortunately, her dream turned into a nightmare when her professor demanded a “secret relationship,” creating a significant obstacle in her path.

Civil activists are documenting stories of harassment amid social constraints that hinder confronting what has become a widespread phenomenon. They have recorded hundreds of cases of sexual harassment in Iraqi universities, compelling dozens of girls to abandon their dreams of completing their studies or succumb to peer pressure, leading them into miserable relationships.

Resisting a welling of tears, Shatha shared that the professor, who both supervises her thesis and holds the position of department chair, has been helpful, kind, and cooperative with her and her fellow students. Despite being thirty years her senior, she did not notice anything unusual about his behaviour during her first year of studies.

However, the professor showed a different side in the following year of her studies when she developed a romantic relationship with a young staff member at the college, and they agreed to get married. There was an old personal dispute between her boyfriend and her professor, and it seemed that the latter was attempting to exact revenge through her. She recounted, “He would call me at night and send me flirty messages,” running her finger across the palm of her other hand as if using the mobile phone.

When she confronted him and urged him to stop, he became enraged that her boyfriend took precedence over him. He threatened to ruin her academic career and vowed to never allow their marriage.

He effectively carried out his threat, deliberately neglecting to review her thesis and wasting her time, as he had threatened. According to her account, he would request sources that were impossible for her to find. When she confronted him about it, he calmly said, as if prescribing a remedy for her persistent condition, saying, “A secret relationship or a secret marriage will end your suffering.”

He consistently uttered, “You will regret it,” directly to her face as a threat after she told him that she firmly declined his proposition. A week later, he carried out his threat by leveraging his role as the head of her college department. He informed her family, expressing concern for her safety, that she was involved with a disreputable employee known for womanising.  Her father, influenced by a tribal mindset, compelled her to abandon her education and stay at home, subjecting her to physical mistreatment.

Shatha made unsuccessful attempts to persuade her father to allow her to complete her studies by reaching out to activists in women’s rights organisations, hoping to break free from the constraints of her home. Unfortunately, her efforts proved futile. She also mentioned that her boyfriend’s parents proposed to her, but her father vehemently refused, relying strongly on the information provided by the department head.

After choking back tears, Shatha says, “The professor, who claims to be a symbol of morality and integrity, did not stop there. He stooped so low as to ask a friend of mine to tell me that he could persuade my father to let me return to college and even help me with my PhD afterward, once I agreed to his terms.” “His administrative authority, the law’s weakness, and social stigma force us to silence, even to the point of despair.”

Non-deterrent law

Activists and teaching staff emphasise that most reports of harassment incidents in Iraqi universities, whether public or private, remain confidential. Victims, including staff members, students, or employees withhold information due to the fear of social disgrace and the risk of being wrongfully accused of crimes instead of being recognized as victims of assault and rights violations. This fear leads to family-imposed punishments, such as hindering their education or employment continuity.

It may even reach “honour killing”, in which girls are killed in an attempt to eliminate shame and preserve honour. The inability to provide the evidence required by investigative procedures and courts stands as an obstacle preventing them from advancing with their complaints.

That’s why there are no statistics related to harassment. A source in the Ministry of the Interior believes that the reason for this lies in the secrecy with which such cases are dealt with, and that most of them end in reconciliation or the complaint is not pursued due to the absence of evidence”

Additionally, the university presidential councils possess the capability to impose administrative fines, as they can independently address complaints without the involvement of the Ministry of Interior. The same source from the Ministry of Interior also indicates that those complaints are treated confidentially to safeguard the reputation of the female complainant, the college, and the university as a whole.

The source emphasised the need for precision in dealing with harassment cases in universities, stating, “harassment cases are difficult to prove without evidence. Not every word spoken by a professor in a university implies sexual harassment. Additionally, the request for sexual favours in exchange for academic grades, for example, is a complex matter; it is not just harassment but also constitutes extortion and exploitation in a professional context.”  The source concluded, “In the end, for a case to exist, there must be evidence.”

Despite the prevalence of numerous harassment stories that occasionally extended beyond the university campus, the report’s author examined the websites and pages of some of Iraq’s largest universities. Unfortunately, no information was found in their news regarding ongoing investigations into harassment cases or action taken against harassers. Additionally, the author failed to uncover any trial files in this field, illustrating the complexity and inherent challenges these situations face, contributing to their transformation into a prevailing phenomenon.

However, not all harassment reports are concealed. In an uncommon occurrence, a student from the University of Baghdad’s College of Veterinary Medicine seized an opportunity during an event attended by a sizable number of students and faculty members in April 2023 to voice concerns about verbal harassment experienced by female students from university security officers at the gates and entrances.

“There is no need to keep the matter secret, as I know the harasser, and he is standing right in front of me,” she firmly rejected the dean’s request to meet in his office. Subsequently, she pointed with her hand to one of the guards who had just left the hall. According to college sources, the identified individual faced no penalty and returned to work the next day. Conversely, students were sanctioned by the administration, resulting in a ban on bringing cell phones onto the campus.

Article 402 of the Iraqi Penal Code, Law No. 111 of 1969, stipulates that “(1) The following persons are punishable by a period of detention not exceeding 3 months plus a fine not exceeding 30 dinars or by one of those penalties: (a) Any person who makes indecent advances to another man or woman. (b) Any person who assails a woman in a public place in an immodest manner with words, actions or signs. (2) The penalty will be a period of detention not exceeding 6 months plus a fine not exceeding 100 dinars if the offender, having been previously convicted for such offence, reoffends within a year of the date of such conviction.”

According to Judge Iyad Mohsen, this article requires amendment for reasons outlined in an article on the Supreme Judicial Council’s website. The primary concern is related to the specified punishment, which he views as “insufficient and not commensurate with the gravity of the crime, failing to serve as an effective deterrent. This is particularly notable as many countries have revised their legal frameworks on harassment to mitigate the crime’s societal proliferation.”

The second concern is that the article addressed two aspects: The first pertained to soliciting indecent actions from either gender, constituting a crime distinct from harassment, such as requesting someone to expose private body parts. As for the second aspect, it is related to the crime of harassment. The requirement for punishing a male harasser specifies that the harassment must have occurred in a public place, whereas some crimes may take place in private settings, such as retail stores or homes. Additionally, this aspect overlooks instances of harassment experienced by children and young boys.

He adds another reason for the necessity of amending this article, which is to keep pace with the development that has accompanied social media in recent years. This has resulted in many individuals becoming victims of harassment.

Iraqi Labor Law No. 37 of 2015 classifies workplace sexual harassment as a form of unlawful sexual discrimination and defines sexual harassment as: “Any physical or verbal sexual behavior, or any other sex-based conduct, which affects the dignity of women and men, is undesirable, unreasonable, and insulting to those who receive it, and leads to the rejection or non-submission of any person to such behavior, explicitly or implicitly, to make a decision that affects their job.”

This law imposes a penalty on the harasser, either imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months, a fine of one million Iraqi dinars, or one of these two penalties.

Growing Phenomenon

Lawyer and women’s rights defender Zainab Muhammad describes the phenomenon of harassment in Iraq as “a dangerous epidemic. Women encounter harassment in their workplaces, face sexual bargaining when dealing with government offices, and experience harassment while driving, to the point that all of this has become normalised. Additionally, securing positions and jobs often requires appeasing the instincts of those in power.”

She accuses society of promoting the growth and perpetuation of the harassment of women, confirming, “I have received numerous consultations from female professors, college students, doctors, teachers, and employees in recent years. They seek solutions to their harassment issues outside the legal system because they know in advance that if their families discover what is happening, it will hinder their pursuit of employment or work, exposing them to violence and tarnishing their reputation…”

The lawyer mentioned that females encounter many difficulties when attempting to file a complaint against their harassers, starting with the complexities of police stations and associated procedures, in addition to the investigation process and the submission of the case to the competent court. She notes, “Harassers in Iraqi universities, whether professors or department heads, often hold positions of political influence, or are supported by influential entities. They meticulously select their victims, avoiding those who have backing or influence.”

She contends that numerous university professors who came into their positions after 2003, the year when the previous Iraqi regime fell, “obtained advanced degrees from less reputable universities or bought them from neighbouring countries, subsequently securing their academic positions based on dubious credentials,” as she articulated it.

The lawyer Zainab connected us with one of her clients, named Hiyam, who works as an administrative employee under a contract at a Baghdad-based private college. She stated that an investor in the college verbally harassed her, but she diplomatically handled it by either leaving the place, pretending to be busy, or answering the phone “so as not to lose my job, especially since I got it with difficulty.”

She confronted him, urging him to cease his harassment, especially after a female student, who had also been targeted, approached her in light of his persistent mistreatment. “I told him to abandon behaviour reminiscent of a teenager, emphasising that we weren’t in a market or an alley, but in a respectful college.”

Their quarrel escalated from this encounter, leading to an explicit dispute and a board inquiry. The result was the termination of her contract. She stated: “Since the institution is private and not subject to government oversight, I anticipated this to occur; as the investor owns the money meaning he is the decision-maker, I was only a contract employee.”

Hiyam intended to restore her reputation by lodging a complaint against the harassing investor and the college. However, she faced the challenge of substantiating her claims, as her personal account of the harassment she endured was deemed insufficient. Despite being aware that he harassed both female students and staff, including the girl who sought her assistance, they refrained to testify “due to concerns about potential scandals, family oppression, or job loss,” she expressed with great sadness.

According to a professor at a humanities college at one of the universities in Baghdad (whose names and places of employment we are withholding at their request), harassment is increasingly prevalent in universities. Most female students “become victims due to their limited experience, attempting to conceal the matter as much as possible out of fear of their families’ reactions.”

She stated that during her two decades of teaching work, she observed dozens of cases of harassment at the university, the most recent of which involved a first-year student. She explained: “She was terrified when she asked me for help and told me that the janitor at the college where she was studying was harassing her and monitoring her wherever she went inside the university. On one occasion, he spotted her sitting in the college garden next to a male colleague in the same department, so he took pictures and a video clip of her and sent them to her, threatening to deliver them to her family.”

The professor argues that the janitor would not have harassed female students if he were not aware that some academics and university guards engage in similar behaviour without facing appropriate consequences. She confirmed that she had contacted him and threatened to file a complaint with the university president, prompting him to comply and leave the student alone.

The professor wondered: “How many female students have experienced harassment without finding someone to complain to, possibly leading them to deviate or discontinue their education, or endure psychological harm.”

Psychological and social consequences

According to psychologist Dr. Ziad Al-Najm, the impact of the shock after a harassment incident is long-lasting. “The harassed woman may experience a recurring state of shock when recalling the incident or encountering psychological triggers that evoke the same emotions as the initial experience. Hence, sexual harassment stands out as one of the prevalent and severe psychological traumas affecting numerous women worldwide.”

The psychologist delineates the stages of harassment, “beginning with the shock stage, triggered by the occurrence of harassment—whether verbal, physical, or in any other form. The unexpected nature of such actions, coupled with the swift, sudden successive emergence of various emotions, dominated by feelings of anxiety, tension, helplessness, and injustice, results in a state of shock.”

He also indicates that some girls who can confront the act of harassment or deal with the aggressor may not go through the subsequent stages. Studies have also shown that girls and women who can defend themselves against harassers experience less pressure than those who cannot confront the situation.

Dr. Ziad describes the second stage as “post-traumatic stress disorder,” in which the victim experiences oppression and self-blame since she is unable to protect herself or chooses not to take any action against the aggressor. In addition to experiencing psychological and physical symptoms including stress, sleep disturbances, appetite disorders, melancholy, social isolation, despair, and aggressive reactions, she could also lack confidence in herself.

Recollections symbolise the third stage. According to Dr. Ziad; “When the victim remembers the incident, she could feel the same emotions she experienced at the time—that is, dread, anxiety, and panic. In addition, she harbours resentment and rage towards herself. Some of them could imagine another scenario of the situation, in which they can face the aggressor.”

Jawan Hussein, a specialized psychologist, says that “as Iraqi women, we have experienced sexual harassment everywhere from Basra to the Kurdistan region.” She argues that “psychiatric illnesses among the harassers, social conditions, nurture, and the pursuit of pleasure by sensing the frailty and weakness of the other” are the causes of this phenomena.

She adds a main reason to all of this “The sudden openness that has occurred in universities, government agencies, companies, and other establishments over the past 20 years in the absence of explicit codes of conduct that specify the nature of the relationship between employees, the boundaries that should be observed, and the sanctions that will be applied should those boundaries be crossed.”

The researcher focuses her criticism towards Iraqi society, blaming it for the harassment epidemic. “Because of societal shame and the influence of religion and tribal beliefs on upbringing, parents take advantage of their daughters and keep an eye on their behaviour. At the same time, they neglect the proper socialisation of their sons, assuming that a man in Iraqi culture does not suffer the same reputational loss as a woman.”

In light of her role as a psychological researcher and civil activist in an international organisation, Jawan asserts that “the harasser is also a victim, experiencing deprivation or, at the very least, lacking the humane conditions enjoyed by counterparts in more civilised countries. To rationalise his behaviour or foster awareness that sexual harassment is not his right, it is crucial to introspect and ask ourselves,“Why did he resort to such actions?” before laying accusations and imposing punishment on the harasser.”

She concurs with the perspective that the victim’s fear of societal judgement, treating her as a wrongdoer if she seeks help to file a harassment complaint, is what silences her. She also notes that “some women choose to overlook the issue, persuading themselves that it is a prevailing situation in Iraq and that they must submit to it. Moreover, they may lack sufficient awareness to consider harassment as an illegal violation of their basic rights.”

Regarding the psychological effects of harassment on the victim, she says that they differ according to the type of harassment. “Verbal harassment has different consequences compared to physical harassment.” She criticizes the media and specialized organizations for their focus on physical harassment, ignoring the prevalence of verbal harassment with direct and indirect sexual connotations, which “is the most common form experienced by women and girls in Iraq. Its profound impact on them may cause a loss of self-confidence.”

The researcher enumerates common physical symptoms experienced by harassment victims: “loss of appetite, insomnia, digestive diseases, obesity, and sleep disorders.” In cases of sexual assault, victims may contract sexually transmitted infections, and they may suffer from heart diseases and other health issues. Furthermore, the psychological repercussions include nightmares, crying spells, loss of confidence in the surroundings, and severe depression.”

Jawan stresses the vital importance of providing psychological therapy for victims of harassment. However, she notes that this proves challenging, due to the lack of psychological treatment centres in Iraq. This shortage is attributed to a general lack of interest in this field stemming from a broader societal unawareness of its significance—an unfortunate reality, as confirmed by the researcher with regret.

Prof. Walid Qasim, a sociology specialist at the university, observes that the widespread  issue of harassment among female students is prevalent in Iraqi institutions. Additionally, there are lesser occurrences of harassment involving female staff and faculty members. He attributes the emergence of this phenomenon to the fact that “individuals lacking ethical standards have managed to obtain credentials enabling them to hold academic positions by exploiting the challenges Iraq has faced over the past two decades, along with laws facilitating appointments through connections with politicians or powerful parties.”

In his view, a significant reason harassment does not receive adequate attention is our society’s reluctance to acknowledge its shortcomings and confront itself. As a result, it attempts to conceal incidents of harassment, posing a formidable challenge to efforts aimed at eradicating or significantly lessening the problem.

He considers it a serious mistake for victims—be they students, professors, or employees —to remain silent, as this only emboldens the harasser to repeat his actions multiple times, eventually normalising it as their entitlement. However, he acknowledges that due to inadequate oversight in Iraqi universities, action is only taken when an issue escalates into a complaint or becomes a public concern. Consequently, victims often struggle to find someone to protect them from harassment or to deliver justice. It is evident that several college administrations are aware of certain professors and staff members being harassers, yet they frequently choose to hide this information.

He underscores the need to educate female university students regarding harassment, providing guidance on how to handle exposure to it or prevent such situations, especially for newcomers who may “lack experience” in the university environment. He also stresses that this awareness should be disseminated through university or college media, or by families. He suggests that “parents maintain open lines of communication with their daughters  in the university, avoiding treating them as guilty or holding them responsible for any harassment they face. Rather, he advises parents to offer continual support, guidance and intervention, including the submission of complaints when necessary.”

He challenges the notion that the blame lies solely with the harasser. From his perspective, the victim might have played a role in creating conditions conducive to harassment. He explains this by saying that “some female students exploit a professor’s vulnerability towards women, seeking proximity to get better grades, particularly if challenging subjects. If the professor seizes the chance, he may engage in verbal harassment or even sexual assault.”

He also points out that certain female faculty members or employees might raise the issue of  harassment when there are personal problems between them and other colleagues or staff: “This is typically accompanied by formal complaints, whether inside or outside the university campus, for the purpose of revenge.”

Shahinda (38 years old, a pseudonym) was an employee at the University of Baghdad. In 2015, she married a professor with a Ph.D. from the same university. After giving birth to a child, he convinced her to stay at home and care for their child, and she complied. One day, when her child fell ill, she decided to visit her family’s house, approximately 20 minutes away by car, to seek assistance in caring for her child.

She recounts: “I collected my son’s clothes from the bathroom and was about to enter the bedroom when I overheard my husband speaking to someone on his mobile phone, mentioning that he would handle the matter once he dropped me off at my parents’ house.” Despite not inquiring about the specifics, the matter continued to preoccupy her mind.

When she returned home with him the next afternoon, she found a notebook on the kitchen  table that belonged to a third-year female student, with her name written on the first page. She was certain that the notebook had not been there the day before, sparking her suspicions.

It took her a month to figure out the passcode for his phone through continuous monitoring. She was shocked when she opened his phone without him being aware and found his conversations with his female students on WhatsApp. She chose not to confront him and kept checking his phone whenever he went to the bathroom or fell asleep.

During two months of monitoring, she says, “I discovered that he had contracted temporary marriages (Kabin) with seven female students for short periods. He is a mentally disturbed, keeping conversations with all of them, in addition to those he is trying to seduce.”

Her expression tightens, and she continues angrily: “One of them requested a weekly allowance, another asked for funds to go back to her home in a neighbouring governorate, and his responses were consistent; he would pay for sexual favours…”

Shahinda remained silent for a few moments, then exclaimed, “Some of the students asked him about the names of the birds in our house, and others admired our furniture, inquiring about its prices.” She slapped her cheek with her palm, expressing her shock, “He was bringing them to my house while I was away.”

Then she continued, remembering: “He and a group of his fellow professors at the university have a WhatsApp group where they engage in disgusting conversations about female students’ bodies and which of them is suitable for spending a few days in bed through temporary marriage.”

She says that she confronted him and accused him of his multiple cheatings. He calmly answered that he had not deviated from Sharia law: “Any woman who asks for my help financially, I propose a temporary marriage to her. I did not force any of them to do so, and by marrying them I prevented them from deviating and engaging in prostitution!”

Seeking safety at her family’s home, she initiated divorce proceedings, unable to come to terms with being his wife. Despite her regret that this won’t shield female university students from him, but she is moving on with the separation lawsuit she filed against him.

Powerful harassers

Sexual harassment extends beyond the universities in the capital, Baghdad. The report’s author communicated with female employees and professors in various universities across other governorates, gathering testimonies that showed similar stories. In a humanities college at Mosul University, an employee disclosed that the assistant dean for administrative affairs is widely known within the college and even the entire university as a harasser. “However, he enjoys support from a political party that prevents him from accountability. Even when his son submitted forged documents to secure acceptance into a master’s program at the college, the university administration, upon discovering the deception, merely conducted an investigation without imposing any penalties,” explained the employee.

She continues: “He specifically targets married women, whether they are employees or graduate students, offering them a choice between accepting his sexual demands for personal gain or facing delays for promotions, problems in applying for studies, or obstacles in their academic progress. He tempts them by claiming to have an apartment in Erbil, far from the eyes of people in Mosul.”

She took a moment to contemplate before answering the report’s author’s question about whether she had been harassed, then replied: “Yes, he did. I wanted to meet with the university president, prof. Qusay Al-Ahmadi during his weekly meetings with employees and informing him of what happened to me. However, my colleagues discouraged me because many complaints had been submitted before, and nothing happened. I also feared my husband’s reaction and the possibility of him preventing me from continuing to work.”

In Basra, a female university professor remarks, somewhat sarcastically, “any employee or professor who fails in his married life sets traps for me, and offers me a temporary relationship or marriage, just because I am a widow and I appear vulnerable to them.”

Her most recent experience was with a person holding a high administrative position in her university and affiliated with a prominent political party that controls a well-known militia. He refused to process her promotion paperwork unless she agreed to a temporary marriage. According to her account, he promised that if she agreed, he would “leap between positions like a gymnast!”

She added: “Even if I recorded his voice saying that and sent it to the Minister of Education personally, nothing would happen because the party that supports this harasser is the same party that brought the minister to his position!”

Saja, a student at the University of Kufa, asserts that keeping silent is often the most practical course of action in cases of harassment. She expresses, “As female students, we often find ourselves in vulnerable positions. Many of us struggle to pursue higher education due to challenging living conditions and parental resistance to our academic pursuits. Moreover, it is daunting to imagine anyone believing our side of the story over that of a university professor who outwardly presents themselves as respectful and religious. In essence, we lack the necessary support and amplification of our voices. Filing a complaint, at best, could subject us to widespread gossip, with peers and faculty perceiving us negatively within the college and university community.”

Saja believes that harassment has become a commonplace occurrence, beginning “from the moment we enter the university, starting with security guards, then students, and progressing to the harassment by professors. If a refusal is encountered, they resort to making excuses against the student, citing reasons such as absences, uniforms, and more.”

Maryam, an educator with 23 years of experience in academia, asserts that both public and private universities have been grappling with “educational and moral disasters” for over a decade. This situation arises due to the lack of strong administrative measures and the failure to enforce laws. Blackmail and threats from influential figures, who have inserted the power of party authority into universities, further contribute to the prevailing challenges.

She elaborates, “If you cannot hold these individuals accountable, it becomes challenging to hold others accountable. They have caused considerable damage, and various forms of misconduct have proliferated, ranging from unmerited academic progression to the sale of exam questions and ghostwriting research, extending to ethical transgressions and various types of harassment.”

She ponders, “If this is the state of higher education and those who are supposed to represent the elite of society, then what will be the situation in the rest of the institutions? All values are collapsing, and these individuals persist in veiling themselves in the garb of religion in their speeches and public meetings.”