After Raya Sarkar's explosive post on sexual harassment in academia, another survivor post opens Pandora's box

A woman lawyer Raya Sarkar had posted an explosive list of academicians and activists who have indulged in sexual assault in their institutions and organisations. Immediately after this happened on Tuesday, a similar post on Wednesday by one Malati Kumar proved to be the final nail in the coffin.

However, unlike Sarkar who directly posted the names of 58 professors, Malati claimed that her Facebook account was created by survivors of sexual harassment in academia and activist-circles. According to a report by the New Indian Express, she also said that the survivors involved in creating the post chose to remain anonymous. The post carries names of social activists and academics accusing them of sexual harassment. 

 

The Facebook post read:

We are sending this message to you with a list of people in academia and activism where there are concrete cases of sexual harassment against them. After we saw the list compiled by Raya Sarkar on Facebook, we were in constant conversation for last couple of days regarding the experiences in our own lives. We in this process got connected to few other survivors of sexual harassment in academia and activist-circles as well. A Pandora’s box opened. A solidarity and trust to share long-kept-secrets developed in a very close circle. But we also felt that the problem of Sexual harassment/predatory behavior seems so pervasive, so layered, so related to position of power that to express it openly becomes highly difficult. Particularly so, when the harasser appears as a ‘Messiah for the oppressed’.

We who have compiled this list are Dalit-Bahujan and like us, many of the survivors have come from small towns/villages/marginalized communities to these big university and urban spaces with lot of hopes. In these spaces of progressive activism, we have re-discovered our own personal histories of oppression, we have listened to these activists/academics and have idolized them and then the advantage is taken of that admiration and respect. Many of us have spent nights blaming ourselves at first, crying alone, submerging in a guilt trip. We thought, if we speak out, will not we dismiss the positive roles of these people? Will not the right-wing organizations or media or state machinery take advantage of that and victimize the accused person beyond proportion, keeping in mind some of them are already under threats and targets for taking sides of the oppressed.

But the experience of harassment corrodes us from inside. It corrodes the confidence that the world will believe us. We had no other option than to put up the names of the harassers in this manner. Most of them are persons with enormous network and connections in academia, political circles, media, university administration or even in the anti-sexual harassment committee (in case of JNU) and the past experience shows that identity of the complainant never remains secret. Let the floodgate open for the survivors. The Harasser should be named at least to warn the future generation of women. And the struggle should go on in other fronts. Some of the survivors are determined to initiate necessary legal action as soon as possible. We are compiling our evidences for that purpose too. More survivors may become confident to take legal steps and some may be able to come forward openly if atmosphere of support and solidarity is created.

With all the trauma, anxiety and the ‘anonymity’ forced on us by the situation have made us alone. We have almost no one to consult legally as don’t know that in the progressive lawyer circle who is with whom and who will leak information to whom. We are sending the mail (containing the list) to various progressive media platforms too hoping that they publish this letter and the list. We could not put the letter/list from our Facebook accounts to maintain our anonymity. But you can.

Meanwhile, Raya Sarkar was invited as the guest curator for Twitter handle  @Genderlog India on Tuesday Oct 31. Here, Sarkar clarified her motive behind the release of the list and said, "firstly the list was not made to shame anyone, but to make students, the most vulnerable wary of alleged sexual predators." What she specifically meant was students from the vulnerable sections of the society, such as the Dalits, Adivasis and the Bahujans.
 

Hi this is Raya Sarkar the creator of the 'list' of sexual predators in academia and today I will speak here. (1/1)

— Genderlog (@genderlogindia) October 31, 2017

Firstly the 'list' was not to 'shame' anyone but to make students, the most vulnerable wary of alleged sexual predators

— Genderlog (@genderlogindia) October 31, 2017

Especially Dalit Adivasi and Bahujan students and students from different intersections to be wary, most vulnerable.

— Genderlog (@genderlogindia) October 31, 2017

I am here to talk about sexual harassment in academia. And how institutions have failed students from all backgrounds.

— Genderlog (@genderlogindia) October 31, 2017

First of all I want to talk about the culture of academic recommendations and their shortcomings.

— Genderlog (@genderlogindia) October 31, 2017

Recommendations have driven students to please their professors, power dynamics at play that enable abuse.

— Genderlog (@genderlogindia) October 31, 2017

If I don't make you happy I don't get an academic recommendation.

— Genderlog (@genderlogindia) October 31, 2017

If you don't like my caste, my disabilities, my religion, my opinions, if you don't like me speaking truth to power.

— Genderlog (@genderlogindia) October 31, 2017

pic.twitter.com/1OuUSUTkiw

— Genderlog (@genderlogindia) October 31, 2017

And the main reason is Brahminism and it's power nexus.

— Genderlog (@genderlogindia) October 31, 2017

I hope people are awake. I want to use this platform to talk about the power nexuses (nexi?) that stop people from

— Genderlog (@genderlogindia) November 1, 2017

reporting sexual harassment and how redressal systems have failed students, persons and vulnerable people in general.

— Genderlog (@genderlogindia) November 1, 2017

People ask why should we talk about caste, religion, gender identity? Why should we talk about Brahminism?

— Genderlog (@genderlogindia) November 1, 2017

systems that abuse the most vulnerable? Why does your identity politics only go so far as gender. Why not also casteism

— Genderlog (@genderlogindia) November 1, 2017