Nearly one fourth of Hong Kong University students sexually harassed

Nearly 25 percent of university students have suffered from sexual harassment, according to an Equal Opportunities Commission survey.

Of 14,442 students polled, 18.4 percent of male respondents and 27 percent of the females revealed that they had been victims of sexual harassment.

The commission conducted the online survey at eight publicly funded universities and the Open University of Hong Kong between March 22 and April 30.

Some 23 percent said they were sexually harassed in the 12 months before the survey, but only 2.5 percent filed a complaint with their universities.

Some 72.7 percent said the perpetrators were their classmates, while 4.4 percent pointed the finger at tutors, lecturers or professors.

Another 4.4 percent said non-academic staff at the university were responsible.

Ferrick Chu Chung-man, the commission's acting chief operations officer, said the percentage of male students being sexually harassed is higher than people would have expected.

"Before this survey, my rough estimation was the percentage would be lower than 10 percent. I couldn't believe it was 18 percent. People probably expected the percentage to be lower than 5 percent," he said.

The commission also conducted in-depth interviews with 28 students about their experiences.

Kitty Lam Kit-yee, the commission's senior policy, research and training officer, said a boy revealed that a male professor pursued him and even offered to take him on an overseas trip.

A female student said a male professor told her that he would probably give her a higher mark if she showed more skin in her next presentation.

The survey also found that 15.6 percent of students said they were subjected to sexually suggestive statements or jokes, or inappropriately physically contacted.

Some 58.9 percent did not make a report as they thought the matter was not serious, while 36.2 percent felt they could resolve the issue on their own.

"They are not aware of what sexual harassment is. If they are aware of their actions, then they will understand the liability of what could happen," said Rizwan Ullah, the deputy convener of the commission's policy, research and training committee.

The commission said universities should consider appointing someone at the level of a pro-vice-chancellor to monitor such matters.