Pakistani students finally get a platform to report on-campus harassment

If you’re a
student who feels unsafe on your university campus, you can now email your concerns
to the Safe Campus Initiative, Pakistan’s first platform to help students and
faculty facing harassment on campus.

The platform was
launched today (December 28) by the Salman Sufi Foundation.

“The purpose of
this initiative is two pronged,” said the initiative’s founder Salman Sufi in a
tweet. “First: To provide students/faculty a safe platform to share incidents
that admin hasn’t helped them with. We will connect you with
lawyers/psychologists/LEA. Second: Work with admin to solidify their anti-harassment
protocols,” he tweeted.

BREAKING:
In light of harassment incidents at educational institutions in #Pakistan, I have launched Pakistan’s first #SafeCampus initiative.
Students/Faculty can email at SafeCampusPk@salmansufifoundation.org and they will receive a secure link to submit their complaints 1/4 pic.twitter.com/Rfpc3onAuA

— Salman Sufi (@SalmanSufi7) December 28, 2019

It aims to make
university campuses a safe place for students as Sufi believes that “a place of
fear can’t be a place of education”.  

The organisation
will contact all educational institutions, review their anti-harassment policies
and help them make their policies efficient.

“The
administration that refuses to follow proper anti-harassment protocols will be
marked #UnsafeCampus,” the founder tweeted.

If you have faced
harassment on campus or know someone who has, you can email your concerns at SafeCampusPk@salmansufifoundation.org.
On sending the email, you will get a link where you can submit your complaint.

The initiative
was launched in light of the recent harassment cases reported on campuses, according
to Sufi.

The foundation
has also announced that they need volunteers in campuses across Pakistan.

A number of
such cases were reported across the country recently. One that got a lot of
attention was at the University of Balochistan. Female students of the varsity
had claimed that CCTV footage was being used by its admin to harass and
blackmail them.

Members of its
academic staff even revealed that secret cameras were placed inside
switchboards and keyboards to monitor the student’s activities.

Many female students had claimed that the administration was using their videos to blackmail them and asking for inappropriate favours in return.

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Article source: https://www.samaa.tv/news/2019/12/pakistani-students-finally-get-a-platform-to-report-on-campus-harassment/