Why there's a debate over the new quarantine center for Americans at risk of Ebola
Protests erupt in Kenya against U.S. Ebola quarantine center for Americans
NPR Topics: News1 min read
University of Manchester to investigate sexual harassment of female medical students
TL;DR
The University of Manchester is investigating reports of sexual harassment involving about 20 female medical students who received intimidating anonymous phone calls from male callers over the past three years.
Key points
- University of Manchester launched an investigation
- About 20 female medical students complained
- Anonymous phone calls have been ongoing for three years
- Students reported intimidation and sexual harassment
- Charlotte Buttercase shared her personal experience
Mentioned in this story
University of ManchesterCharlotte Buttercase
The University of Manchester has launched an investigation after about 20 female medical students complained of receiving anonymous phone calls in the middle of the night from male callers who intimidated and sexually harassed them.
The calls have been going on for at least three years, according to Charlotte Buttercase, a final-year medical student and one of those targeted.
Woken in the dead of night, female students have been told they are being watched, or have been asked to perform sexual favours, while in other cases callers have screamed gender-based slurs at them.
Buttercase, 24, described her own experience. “On April 16 I was phoned at 2am from an anonymous, no-caller ID and in a two-minute interaction I was subjected to sexually harassing comments.
“Given I was alone in a dark room at 2am – it was one man speaking and three men laughing – I felt incredibly intimidated, demeaned and belittled by this event.”
Speaking to fellow medical students later, Buttercase discovered 16 calls were made in 22 minutes that night, and she was the fifth woman they had called. Others have since come forward with stories of sexual harassment, in person and via phone calls.
In an open letter to the university’s vice-chancellor, Duncan Ivison, Buttercase called for a formal review of what she described as a “pervasive culture of sexual harassment” in the school of medical sciences.
“If one less young woman feels unsafe in her own home, feels less alone in experiencing these attempts to intimidate and belittle her, then we have succeeded,” she wrote.
One in three female students say they have endured sexual harassment during their time at university or college. A recent survey of undergraduates found that students at England’s leading universities were more than twice as likely to experience sexual harassment than those at “lower tariff” institutions.
The research by the Office for Students, England’s higher education regulator, also uncovered hotspots of sexual harassment and sexual assault or violence against those studying courses requiring high entry grades, such as medicine, dentistry, veterinary sciences or languages.
Q&A
What prompted the University of Manchester's investigation into harassment?
The investigation was prompted by complaints from about 20 female medical students who received anonymous, harassing phone calls.
How long have the harassment incidents been occurring at the University of Manchester?
The harassment incidents have been occurring for at least three years.
What types of harassment did female medical students report?
Female medical students reported receiving threatening calls where they were told they were being watched and asked to perform sexual favors.
Who is Charlotte Buttercase and what did she experience?
Charlotte Buttercase is a final-year medical student who reported receiving a harassing phone call at 2am, during which she felt intimidated and belittled.
