Ministry working to prevent sexual harassment at universities

The Ministry of Education has announced it plans to work with other departments to establish a long-term mechanism to prevent sexual harassment at universities and colleges, reports thepaper.cn.

The official building of the The Ministry of Education in Beijing. [Photo: IC]

This comes after authorities made a decision to cancel the academic title of "Changjiang Scholar" for well-known Beihang University professor Chen Xiaowu, who has been accused of sexually harassing seven of his students.

Chen has been stripped of his post as executive vice-president of the Graduate School at Beihang University. His teaching certificate has also been canceled by the university.

The decision was made after a former doctorate student of Chen first made allegations that he tried to force himself on her after luring her to his sister's house more than 10 years ago. She managed to leave the house unharmed.

File photo of Chen Xiaowu. [Photo: buaa.edu.cn]

A professor at the University of International Business and Economics is also making sexual harassment allegations against one of her instructors.

Students and graduates from over 40 Chinese universities, including such top institutions as Tsinghua University and Peking University, have launched a campaign for the creation of a mechanism to prevent sexual harassment.

Zhang Yi, a graduate of Wuhan Univeristy, says they've recommended five different steps for colleges to take to better protect their students from potential sexual harassment, including training for both teachers and students, as well as the creation of an open channel to report sexual harassment.

"The establishment of a long-term mechanism to prevent sexual harassment is what we really expect," Zhang added.

China Daily contributed to the story