Only 80 formal complaints were submitted in those four years, representing less than two per cent of the reported incidents. Foto Shutterstock In the past four years, the number of reports of inappropriate sexual behaviour at universities has increased markedly. This is the conclusion of the radio programme Argos based on a survey of all Dutch universities. Regional newspaper De Gelderlander has also published news of abuses at Radboud University.
The Argos survey shows that the number of reports to confidential counsellors at universities more than doubled in four years from 141 in 2019 to 300 in 2022. The total number of reports of inappropriate behaviour (including non-sexual behaviour) was 4652 in the same period. That is a lot more than the number of formal complaints. Only 80 formal complaints were submitted in those four years, representing less than two per cent of the reported incidents.
With reports increasing by a factor of three (from 69 to 225 reports), Radboud University is the organization with the biggest increase in undesirable behaviour. The university in Nijmegen was also in the news because of two specific cases of inappropriate behaviour.
Nijmegen rector
Last week, Argos covered the story of how ‘a leading professor of Psychology’ crossed a line with a female student. This weekend, De Gelderlander revealed a formal complaint had been submitted (and upheld) against the rector magnificus Han van Krieken. The incident, dating from 2017, concerned inappropriate sexual remarks made to a female colleague. That almost no one knew about it was because the complaint had ‘inadvertently’ been left out of the summary of complaints in the annual report, says the university. [Update: Today, 9/27, Van Krieken has announced the resignation of his position.]
De Gelderlander announced it would be publishing another article this week about inappropriate behaviour at Radboud after talking to 20 women. So far, no one seems willing to talk about the incidents at WUR, as Resource has discovered.
If you do want to share your experiences with Resource (anonymously if wished) for an article on the background and patterns of inappropriate behaviour at our university, send an email to the editors. We guarantee discretion. resource@wur.nl
