Harvard students protest anthropology professor accused of sexual abuse

Harvard University students publicly staged a walkout from a class taught by Dr. John Comaroff, who was accused of forcibly kissing and groping graduate students in a lawsuit by three graduate students.

Comaroff, a professor of anthropology and an expert on South Africa, had been on administrative leave following a university investigation into his conduct, but returned to teaching last fall when he also faced a strike.

The lawsuit, which has been backed by Title IX from the US Department of Justice, alleges that the prestigious institution ignored allegations of sexual harassment against a prominent tenured professor, who in an incident forcibly kissed and groped a woman. of the women and told her that she could suffer “corrective rape” while doing fieldwork in Africa if she brought her girlfriend.

Comaroff was placed on unpaid leave in January 2022 after university investigators found he engaged in verbal conduct that violated the school’s professional conduct and sexual and gender policies.

He has denied the allegations, and his lawyers told DailyMail.com at the time of the lawsuit that he “categorically denies having harassed or retaliated against any student.”

Several activist organizations across campus, as well as the graduate student union’s Feminist Task Force, organized the protest.

“John Comaroff has spent his career silencing and retaliating against students, thereby undermining Harvard’s value in creating a safe and equitable learning environment for all,” freshman Rosie Couture said in a statement. “For the good of the university community and Harvard’s academic mission, it is time for Harvard to act.”

Plaintiffs Margaret Czerwienski, Lilia Kilburn, and Amulya Mandava alleged that Comaroff over the years “kissed and groped students without their consent, made unwanted sexual advances, and threatened to sabotage students’ careers if they complained.”

The lawsuit accuses Comaroff of insinuating to Kilburn that she could be the target of “corrective rape” or murder if she was seen in a same-sex relationship while doing fieldwork in Africa, a comment she told the agency. New York Times it was done with an ‘enjoyment tone’.

The lawsuit says Kilburn was subjected to “an ongoing nightmare that included further forced kissing, groping, persistent invitations to socialize alone off campus, and coercive control.”

“With respect to Ms. Kilburn, Professor Comaroff did not kiss or touch her inappropriately at any time,” the statement from the professor’s lawyers said.

On another occasion in 2017, when she met with Comaroff to discuss her plans to study in Cameroon, he repeatedly said that he could be subjected to violence in Africa because he was in a same-sex relationship, according to the lawsuit.

‘Millisecond. Kilburn froze in shock while Professor Comaroff continued for approximately five minutes,” the lawsuit said.

Kilburn tweeted in support of the strike, writing: “As someone who experienced Comaroff’s misconduct firsthand, I am so grateful to see others spread the word.” this direct action is critical because Harvard only announced its sanctions against Comaroff to two departments. but everyone needs information and security.’

Comaroff said in a statement from his lawyers that “this was a necessary conversation for his safety” and that he was “motivated solely by his concern for the well-being of Ms. Kilburn and had no romantic or sexual intent.”

The other two plaintiffs, Margaret Czerwienski and Amulya Mandava, said that when they reported Comaroff’s behavior to university administrators, he retaliated against them by threatening to derail their careers.

Comaroff denied ever threatening Czerwienski or Mandava, but instead “did whatever he could to help these students and advance their careers.”

The lawsuit says the women first spoke to Harvard staff about Comaroff nearly five years ago.

“The three plaintiffs repeatedly complained to Harvard administrators,” the lawsuit says.

“But the university dismissed them and chose to protect its star professor over vulnerable students,” he added.

The lawsuit claims Harvard stood by and watched as it retaliated by claiming students would have “trouble getting jobs.”

Comaroff, who joined Harvard in 2012, was not named as a defendant. In June, the harvard crimson reported a sexual misconduct claim against him dating back to his time at the University of Chicago in the 1970s.

His attorneys, Norman Zalkind, Janet Halley and Ruth O’Meara-Costello, said in a joint statement that he “categorically denies having harassed or retaliated against any student.”

Harvard had no comment. In January, he gave Comaroff a spring semester leave of absence and prohibited him from teaching required courses after discovering he engaged in verbal conduct that violated his sexual harassment and professional conduct policies.

Those sanctions have divided the Harvard community, where nearly 40 faculty members signed an open letter questioning the research and calling him an “excellent colleague.”

The three plaintiffs said their academic trajectories and career prospects had been “profoundly altered” and that Harvard violated Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, which protects students from discrimination on the basis of sex, and various Massachusetts laws. .

In September, the Justice Department, in an unusual filing in such a case, argued that Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 protects the ability of students to report sex discrimination without fear of retaliation.

“For that to happen, schools must protect students who participate in the Title IX process from retaliation and respond effectively to known acts of retaliation by their employees,” the department said.

‘Harvard’s continued inaction in the face of repeated reports of harassment of Professor Comaroff – until prompted to do so by the media – demonstrates an institutional policy of indifference: a system designed to protect the university, its reputation and the faculty that upholds that reputation at the expense of its students,’ the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit seeks a jury trial, unspecified damages and a ruling that Harvard violated women’s rights.