Kalakshetra students allege sexual harassment by a senior faculty, NCW seeks fair probe

Sexual harassment cases in premiere institutes are always filled with years of suppression and torture, it is never easy for the victims to come up openly and speak against the perpetrators.

A similar incident from Kalakshetra Foundation located in Chennai is in focus from past two days, a few students of the academy have alleged of a heinous crime by a senior faculty member inside the campus of Rukmini Devi College.

This Past December, Kalakshetra’s former director Leela Samson wrote a post on Facebook about a teacher who had been harassing and molesting students for over a decade.

The Print article says that Samson soon deleted the post but screenshots were taken and posted on Instagram and other platforms. Students and alumni started sharing their stories.

“A public institution, a haven of the highest art and contemplation — now turning a blind eye to how young girls are treated. They are vulnerable. A male member of the staff is known to be threatening and molesting them, who are not yet adults,” Samson wrote.

The screenshots of post are available on Instagram.

Several students, alumni and faculty members told The Print about the allegations of sexual harassment by a powerful senior faculty member has been going on unchecked and unabated for years.

On the basis of the report published by The print on March 21, The National Commission of women tweets, "NCW India has taken cognizance of the matter. Chairperson @sharmarekha has written to DGP Tamil Nadu to ensure that relevant provisions are invoked in the FIR against the accused teacher and also against the Director of Kalakshetra for shielding the accused."

As per the New Indian express report, NCW Chairperson, Rekha Sharma in a letter written to DGP Sylendra Babu urged the authorities to ensure that provisions are invoked in the FIR against the director of the institute, too, for “shielding the accused.”

The alleged incidents of sexual harassment came to light after students - riled up by the internal complaints committee of the institute giving a clean-chit to the accused teacher after an inquiry - started anonymously sharing their experiences on Care Spaces, a US-based online platform, which, subsequently, initiated an online signature campaign.

Many other on the micro-blogging site raised their voices against the sexual harassment cases in Kalakshetra.

@nrithyapillai says, "It is not about just this one man, there is a whole system in place that enables these perpetrators ! There have been cases of sexual harassment and a general culture of body shaming , physical and emotional harassment in these spaces ! #kalakshetra."

Published on: Thursday, March 23, 2023, 02:45 PM IST