Questions tagged [sexual-misconduct]
Behavior that may be construed as sexual misconduct (without implying judgment that it is so). This includes forms of sexual abuse, sexual harassment, but also in general advances, comments or actions in situations that may be inappropriate --- for instance, between a student and their instructor.
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Sex worker student offering her (lawful) services
One of my students is an escort/stripper and she has offered me (and other faculty in my department) her "services". I am pretty sure my initial reaction of "thanks for letting me know, now can you ...
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How to avoid being falsely accused of harassment by a student?
I am a junior faculty member and as part of my work I have to supervise students. I am required by the University to have one-on-one meetings with them every week to check their progress and give ...
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How to deal with an advisor who wants a "friendlier" relationship with me than I do?
I work as an assistant at a university in Australia. I joined the team consisting of my current advisor and his two PhD students. The other group members are men and they have a co-worker-like ...
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Need help with students who've turned my class into a dating service
I'm a professor at a local university. I'm passionate about teaching, and am proud to teach 100-level science and mathematics courses to young and aspiring students.
Some senior engineering students ...
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I was sexually assaulted by a professor writing me a LOR for grad-school applications. What should I do?
I’m a foreign student currently applying to extremely competitive doctoral programs in the US. Recently, one of the professors writing a letter of recommendation sexually assaulted me. I live in a ...
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What physical contact, if any, is acceptable between a supervisor and a student?
I was rather surprised that in this answer which suggests that a supervisor giving a side-hug to a research assistant is acceptable behaviour. I try and limit the physical contact with my students/...
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Toxic, harassing lab environment
I have just started a research position (around 2.5 months ago) at a top-10 university. I am having my own funding and was initially quite excited about the opportunity, and did and do love my project....
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What leverage do universities have over sexual violence in fraternities?
IMPORTANT: The allegation of gang-rape in the Rolling Stone article that formed the basis for this question has been retracted; later evidence on the matter shows that the allegation that gang-rape ...
user1482
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As a TA, I had sex with someone who turned out to be one of my students, what do I do?
I'm a grad student and TA.
I was playing pool on campus and met some people who happened to be in a frat. We played together and they invited me to their frat party. Long story short, I got really ...
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How to create an environment in which students can report teacher-student sexual harassment?
I teach physics at a community college in California. A series of female students have told me about sexual harassment by the same tenured male math instructor. Two such incidents went like this.
one ...
user1482
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Allegations of harassment by a faculty member and reporting?
This issue is about a university in a 3rd world country.
I friend of mine (I will call her "Z") is a faculty member at a reputable university. During one of her sittings with an undergrad student ("...
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How to deal with unwanted physical contact, presents and attention by a postdoc supervisor?
Posting this to academia stackexchange, but if this may fit better in other place please let me know.
My girlfriend is a new PhD student in a male dominated field, and is supervised by a postdoc in a ...
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A female professor was found responsible for sexual harassment – what can happen to the signatories of a letter in support of her?
The New York Times article reported a female professor at New York University was found to be responsible for sexual harassment of a male student.
There's a letter of support for this professor, sent ...
user93132
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How to deal with sexual harassment by a senior colleague without jeopardizing my tenure case?
I apologize in advance that I cannot write about details, as they contain identifying information about the senior colleague in question.
The low-down is that I am a tenure-track professor at a US ...
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Teaching a student (as a TA) when there is flirting, etc. and mutual interest
I am a graduate student with an assistantship. I met an undergraduate and we hit it off (talking about sex, but not sex with each other). But now I assist a class with her (and I'm not good at hiding ...
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Pre-tenure faculty - should I ignore all possible troubles to get tenured?
I'm a tenure-track assistant professor who started in this fall. I heard that I should not get involved in any issues or conflicts to get tenured. However, I am unsure about this situation.
I was in ...
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Appropriate response to sexual misconduct 'joke' made against an academic
This happened quite recently to a friend and colleague of mine.
Another colleague made an off-hand 'joke' about a friend (an academic) potentially behaving inappropriately with his students. This ...
user7130
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Gracefully handling a professor who is attracted to me
One of the professors in my class seems to be attracted to me. I am back at university after a long stint in software, so my age group is similar to the professors. He is married and probably has a ...
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How to professionally deal with sexual harassment in academia
I am a first year PhD student, and there is an older (by which I mean further ahead in his PhD) student who has been rather unperturbed by me asking him to stop flirting with me. This has been going ...
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How will expulsion for physical abuse and sexual misconduct affect a student's future educational career?
I recently had a university student (my ex) expelled from my undergrad university when he was found responsible for physical abuse and sexual misconduct. How would this expulsion affect his future ...
anon
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Can professors have romantic relationships with post-docs? [closed]
Can professors have romantic relationships with post-docs (in the same department)?
I feel like this point is a bit more subtle than, say, professors hooking up with students, since post-docs and ...
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How should I deal with being harassed by my supervisor in a non-work situation?
I'm a female student in some huge and popular university in my country.
I have a supervisor who is much older then me. He is a very respected person in our community.
We worked together a lot, it ...
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One of my professors made a rape joke. What should I do?
I'm at a community college in the US.
Early on in the semester, one of my professors made a rape joke. I was too stunned, tired, and sick (I have a moderate physical health condition) to get involved ...
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Will I be held responsible for working with a supervisor accused of sexual misconduct?
I am a first-year Ph.D. student. In the last year of my undergrad I began a research project with my then-advisor, who planned to hand me off to his former postdoc (let's call him John) who is tenured ...
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Can I give back my Master's Degree and remove my Master's Thesis? [closed]
I was coerced into a sexual relationship with my Advisor. Although, I passed my First Doctoral exam in my first year (2008), I was held back from any further advancement by my Advisor. In frustration ...
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Is it ethical to have a relationship with a student after my supervision of him is complete?
I am supervising a bachelor thesis and find the respective student attractive. Would it be ethical/acceptable to get into a relationship with the student after the thesis is completed?
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How should administration punish sexual abuse/trade for grade?
It happens that some students offer sex for grade.
Just considering the fact that popularity of this strategy can strongly weaken the quality of education, administrators should take some actions to ...
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Why are the number of reported sex crimes so high at Ivy League Schools?
It seems like the % of sex crimes (rape, statutory rape, etc.) are way higher at ivy league schools / schools with a low admission rate compared to other schools. Other crimes like assault and ...
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Are fear and concerns stemmed from being sexual assaulted generally understandable by grad schools? Would it be seen as a negative trait?
I am a victim of sexual assault and I need to talk to the school (in the US) about it for accommodation reasons. I feel if I don't disclose enough I may not be able to get the accommodation, yet I don'...
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Is there common policy in universities about departments or faculty/staff intervening in the case of misconduct related to Title IX?
My understanding of Title IX is that it is a federal law that requires, among other organizations, universities, to ensure that women are not denied equal opportunities.
In order to ensure compliance ...
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Sexually harassed by postdoc supervisor and forced to quit [closed]
I was forced to resign from a postdoctoral position in a major research institute in the US because of sexual harassment. It's been 4 months since I resigned, but I'm still struggling to move on from ...
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What to do if accused of cheating/misconduct at university? [closed]
This question is written to serve as a canonical question that is asked repeatedly on Academia.SE (see e.g., here, here, here, here, here, here and here.) The purpose of this question is to act as a ...
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Working with `co-guest editor' who has subjected me to harassment as postdoc mentor
Very long post alert!
Background: I have a complicated situation and need advice about how to deal with it. I had joined as a postdoc with a faculty member (a senior professor) in an esteemed research ...
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How to stop sexual harassment by teacher? [closed]
I'm a student in India. My music teacher was kicked out of the school about 1 month ago due to sexual misconduct.
Today, he messaged me on Instagram with a fake ID and started talking nastily to me ...
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How does a professor lose their tenure over a sex scandal which he was not involved in?
The Michigan State University (MSU) has moved to fire the medical school dean for the actions of the child molester / doctor, Larry Nassar. Why does that happen in academia? I'm interested in ...
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Should I report an instance of nepotism - misconduct in favour of sexual partner? [closed]
It came to my awareness a case of nepotism in my academic network.
It concerns a professor and a former female student of him. The professor and the student had relationship while she was conducting ...
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Could sending sexual messages online affect my academic career? [closed]
So, suppose you're a grad student in some academic program in the US; suppose furthermore you're employed by the university (as a teaching/research assistant, say), and you message total strangers on ...
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U.S.C. sex and drugs scandal: would attending such a graduate school hurt one's chances at an academic career?
The University of Southern California (U.S.C.) medical school is currently rocked by a sex and drugs scandal involving the dean of the school -- and possibly other faculty and administrative leaders ...
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Was it appropriate to discuss the reply-all?
A female instructor has had conflict with a much younger male co-instructor and has complained to her chair and associate chair about what she experienced as sexist and other difficult behavior. When ...
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