Sexual harassment, bullying up by 113% at Dutch universities: Study

LONDON

A study on Friday revealed a significant increase in reports of sexual harassment and bullying at universities in the Netherlands over the past four years.

The survey, conducted by Argos, showed that a total of 141 sexually transgressive behavior-related incidents were reported in 2019 at Dutch universities while it rose to 300 last year, a 113% increase, local NL Times said.

The study also noted that reports of other forms of non-sexual transgressive behavior, such as bullying and exploitation, saw a 69% increase, rising from 1,007 in 2019 to 1,700 in 2022.

However, the survey revealed that universities filed only two formal complaints of sexually transgressive behavior last year, and a total of only 80 complaints were lodged over the course of four years.

"It is a serious problem for universities that sexual misconduct occurs on this scale," Mariette Hamer, the government commissioner against sexual violence, told Argos.