King talks with students about sexual harassment
At the invitation of government commissioner Mariëtte Hamer the king spoke with the university community on Thursday in the Herta Mohr building about the approach to sexual misconduct. Over half of female and a large proportion of male students are affected by this according to figures from Statistics Netherlands.
Of the women studying at university, 52% have experienced some form of sexual harassment. For male students, the figure is 19%. These were the findings of a study by Statistics Netherlands, published on 24 April. 16% of students indicated that this was physical sexual violence, 15% said they were harassed online and 27% offline, but with no physical violence (for example, sexually transgressive comments).
The study was carried out at the request of Mariëtte Hamer, government commissioner tasked with combatting sexual misconduct and sexual violence. ‘My goal is to bring about a change in culture by having a dialogue within society.’ She started this in 2022 in the student world after sexist statements made by the Amsterdam Student Corps came to the public’s attention. ‘If we want to change the culture, we have to start with the leaders of the future.’
Student pact
In 2023, Hamer agreed with student organisations the Student Pact against sexually transgressive behaviour and sexual violence in student life. King Willem-Alexander talked with students who helped write the pact and with organisations that work on social safety within their association. He was interested to know how boards communicate the agreements made in the pact to their members. The students said they applied the ‘power of repetition’ in mails and activities.
Well-being weeks are organised, where attention is paid to issues such as alcohol use and sexually transgressive behaviour. And during their introductory period, new members have workshops on acceptable sexual behaviour. They also consider whether some traditions are still appropriate in the present day.
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The king in conversation with students. -
Annetje Ottow in conversation with the king. -
There was a lot of media coverage of the meeting.
University and students in discussion
In a discussion with staff from different universities, the king wondered why the subject is now easier to talk about than when he was a student. At that time, sexual harassment simply wasn’t a subject for discussion. ‘We no longer accept such behaviour,’ said Annetje Ottow, President of the Executive Board of Leiden University. ‘And if something does happen, we see whether there are confidential counsellors or other systems that can help. We also pay a lot of attention to prevention and as a university we keep in close contact with study and student associations on this issue. We also work together with the municipality and other organisations to see what is going on in the city.’
Ongoing cultural change
Has Hamer seen a change in culture since 2022 when she began as government commissioner? ‘We are in the midst of a cultural change. We are much more aware that sexually transgressive behaviour and sexual violence do happen, and we are slowly starting to understand the patterns that precede it. Cultural change takes time. That’s why we continue to call for attention to be paid to the issue and also why we have to maintain the dialogue about it.’