The Comaroff Case: Harvard’s ‘Hypocrisy’ Exposed Over Sexual Harassment

Years after the #MeToo movement exposed horrific incidents of sexual harassment in Hollywood, women are more encouraged to speak up, including in academia.

Last Tuesday, three graduate students at Harvard University filed a federal lawsuit against their university, accusing it of ignoring their complaints about years of sexual harassment by an anthropology professor called John Comaroff.

In their claim, the three students mention earlier attempts to report Comaroff to Harvard, in which his assault was reported as part of his years-long tenure in the Ivy League university. Comaroff has reportedly been threatening and intimidating students' academic progress for years if they report his behavior.

According to one of the students filing the lawsuit, John Comaroff had repeatedly engaged in nonconsensual sexual acts with her even after she expressed rejection.

Yet, students did report him several times, as per the lawsuit, with all their efforts being ignored by the University.

Not only did Harvard University dismiss students' complaints, but also a letter signed by 38 professors at the university had come in defense of Comaroff calling him "an excellent colleague, adviser, and committed university citizen."

This week, the same professors issued another letter titled "We Retract," in which they withdrew their support of Comaroff and expressed regret over their previous support of him, saying they had not "been fully aware of the details of the case."

Harvard University also faces accusations of illegally obtaining medical accords of students complaining about sexual harassment from their therapists, to be used in investigations into the Comaroff Case.