CHENNAI: Following the sexual assault of a student on its Guindy campus last week, Anna University is set to form a group of ‘women warriors’ to help build confidence among students to approach deans, heads of departments and other faculty members to resolve their issues, be they related to sexual harassment or academics.
According to varsity officials, two faculty members and four students (two boys and two girls) from each year of the course in every department will be selected and enrolled as women warriors under the university’s Centre for Empowerment of Women.
The centre will guide the team in planning and executing training programmes and awareness sessions among students to encourage them to raise their voice against any kind of harassment or misconduct.
“We are proud of our student for her courage in filing a police complaint against the accused and we want to inculcate a similar fearless attitude among other students,” said a senior faculty member.
“Sometimes girls ignore misconduct against them and don’t talk about it due to fear of being judged or due to social stigma,” the faculty member added.
Anna varsity mulls women’s safety app & visitor management system
These ‘women warriors’ will help girls open up against any harassment they face and we will ensure strict action against the culprits, the faculty member said.
The varsity will also have a student counsellor visiting the campus thrice a week to interact with students. Weekly counselling sessions will be held for students to address their academic and personal concerns, like ethical campus behaviour, with psychologists. A women’s safety monitoring team, which includes POSH members, and a women’s welfare committee, comprising all senior women faculty members of the varsity, have been formed to supervise these efforts.
The university has also proposed to introduce a dedicated visitor management system and women’s safety app to improve campus security. Emergency contact details and contact information of Prevention of Sexual Harassment (PoSH) cell will be prominently displayed throughout the campuses.
The varsity currently employs 140 security personnel. It has been decided to increase it to 180, primarily to strengthen patrolling activities. The upper age limit for the additional security personnel is restricted to 50 years. Third-party security audits will also be conducted periodically.
To streamline access to the campus, the varsity has decided to allow entry and exit only through the main entrance and Kotturpuram gates. After thorough checking, all other gates will be closed. At present the varsity has over six entry points. These decisions were made during the visit of Higher Education Minister Govi Chezhiaan to the campus on December 27. The minister had interacted with the senior-most faculty members, deans and convenor committee members.
“As the vice-chancellor post is vacant, the members of the convenor committee will monitor the progress of the initiatives and ensure their effective implementation,” said another faculty member.