Harassment in the Academia: Student Suspended from University

* Photo: Official website of the university

Click to read the article in Turkish

A male student who studies child development at the University of Health Sciences in Üsküdar, İstanbul harassed women and threatened them with death both on his own social media account and other fake accounts.

After students have complained about the issue, he has said that he was slandered and closed the social media accounts.

Students: We are worried

Women students have tried to make their voices heard on social media under the hashtag #sbüdetacizvar (There is harassment at the UHS). They have shared dozens of screenshots proving the harassment. Women have noted that suspending him from the university as a disciplinary punishment is not enough, expressing concerns that he will return next semester.

Statement by the university

The University of Health Sciences has released a statement regarding the issue. Informing the public that "the complaints about the related student reached the university administration at the end of 2019-2020 Fall Semester," it has announced that the student has been suspended from university for one semester before the Spring Semester began.

While the student has been suspended from university as per the Article (7) 1/a of the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) Student Discipline Regulation, it is noted that "the necessary legal aid has been provided to the students by the Legal Office as a legal action necessitates a criminal complaint by the victims based on the Article 105 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK)."

According to the statement, the Legal Office of the university has also submitted a petition to intervene in the case of the students who have filed a criminal complaint against the perpetrator.

"The related person has been banned from entering our campus and the security personnel have been informed about the issue after he was given the disciplinary punishment," the university has said further.

Concluding the statement, the university has noted, "As the same complaints have continued about the related student following his suspension, our complainant students have been informed to submit another petition to our administration. The petitions of our students have been referred to our Disciplinary Board and the issue is on the agenda of our Disciplinary Board. The peace and security of our students is our priority!" (EMK/SD)