Organisational politics, power and partnership: an analysis of sexual harassment in the University of Malawi’s Chancellor College

Very few studies have been done on sexual harassment in higher education in Malawi, hence it is admittedly difficult to establish the severity and prevalence of the problem in such institutions. In contemporary organisations, including university campuses, the issue of sexual harassment is increasingly becoming the centre of discussion.

This study is the outcome of an empirical research study conducted between November 2007 and April 2008. It involved focus group discussions, individual interviews and administration of questionnaires involving male and female students, students’ leaders, selected college administration officials and male and female lecturers from various departments. Among other things, the study set out to answer some of the following questions:

• How does the Chancellor College community understand sexual harassment? 
• What are the extent, nature and forms of sexual harassment in Chancellor College?
• In which ways are sexual harassment complaints handled? 
• What are the contents of institutional policies and procedures that focus on sexual harassment?

The findings show that there are several challenges in dealing with sexual harassment. These include:

• lack of a proper legal definition of what constitutes sexual harassment
• lack of a clear university policy on sexual harassment
• lack of clearly defined structures to report cases of sexual harassment
• lack of basic training regarding sexual harassment
• the “culture of silence”, fear of reprisals and fear of being labelled by the college community
• arguably an absence of political will amongst most stakeholders to debate over the issue.