Why Is Harassment in Universities Always About Students — Never About Teachers?

Universities are often described as safe spaces for learning, intellectual freedom, and mutual respect. Over the past decade, discussions around harassment on campuses have gained global attention. Workshops, policies, complaint cells, and awareness campaigns are regularly introduced to protect students from harassment.

This attention is necessary. Students must feel safe in educational environments. However, an uncomfortable question rarely enters the conversation:

Why is harassment in universities always discussed from the students’ perspective—while harassment faced by teachers remains largely ignored?

The moment the word harassment appears in an academic discussion, the assumption is almost automatic: a teacher must be the offender and a student must be the victim. While such cases do exist and must be addressed seriously, the narrative has become so one-sided that another reality is often left completely unspoken.

Teachers can be victims too.

In modern universities, especially with the rise of digital communication and changing power dynamics, many teachers—particularly young lecturers and junior faculty—face harassment from students. Yet speaking about it openly is often seen as controversial or even unacceptable.

One of the most common forms of harassment comes through digital communication. Faculty members today receive emails, messages, and social media requests from students at all hours. While most communication is professional, some crosses the line.

Teachers sometimes receive inappropriate messages, persistent personal requests, or subtle threats related to grades and evaluations. Because student feedback plays a major role in academic evaluations, some students misuse that system as leverage.

The message can be indirect but clear: “Give me what I want, or I will ruin your evaluation.”

For junior faculty members trying to secure contracts or promotions, such situations can create enormous stress.

Another uncomfortable truth lies in anonymous evaluation systems. Universities encourage students to evaluate teachers at the end of each semester. In theory, this helps improve teaching quality. In practice, anonymous feedback can sometimes turn into a platform for personal attacks.

Instead of constructive criticism, teachers may find insulting remarks about their personality, appearance, or teaching style. These comments can damage confidence and professional reputation, yet there is often no accountability behind them.

Female faculty members frequently face an additional layer of difficulty. In many cultures, women in authority positions still face subtle resistance. Female teachers sometimes report students challenging their authority more aggressively than they would challenge male instructors.

In extreme cases, inappropriate comments, rumors, or online harassment can emerge simply because a teacher enforced academic discipline.

Ironically, the same institutions that encourage reporting student harassment sometimes lack clear mechanisms for teachers to report harassment directed toward them.

Why does this silence exist?

Part of the reason lies in perception. Society tends to see teachers as figures of authority who cannot easily be victimized. Admitting that teachers experience harassment challenges that assumption.

Another reason is institutional caution. Universities often fear that acknowledging harassment against teachers might weaken student protection policies or create public controversy. As a result, the topic remains quietly avoided.

But ignoring a problem does not make it disappear.

When teachers feel unsafe, disrespected, or constantly pressured, the academic environment suffers. Teaching requires confidence, intellectual freedom, and emotional stability. A hostile environment undermines all three.

Healthy universities depend on mutual respect between students and teachers. Respect cannot be one-directional.

Protecting students from harassment is essential. But protecting teachers from harassment should be equally important.

Universities must recognize that harassment can move in multiple directions: from teachers to students, from students to teachers, and even between colleagues. Policies should reflect this reality rather than focusing on only one side of the issue.

Clear communication guidelines, accountability in feedback systems, and formal mechanisms for faculty complaints could help address this imbalance.

The goal is not to shift blame from students to teachers or vice versa. The goal is to acknowledge that harassment is a complex issue that affects everyone within academic institutions.

Until universities start having this conversation honestly, an important part of the problem will remain hidden.

Perhaps the real question is not whether harassment exists in universities.

The real question is why we only talk about one side of it.

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Opinion Desk.