Concerning figures
The reason for the mandatory education is data on students who experience sexual violence or harassment. In June 2021, Amnesty International and I&O Research concluded, following representative research, that one in ten female students in the Netherlands becomes a victim of rape during their studies.
A few months later, a survey conducted by Maastricht University itself revealed a similar picture. In that poll, nearly half of Maastricht students (46.9 percent) said they had experienced sexual violence or harassment. In one in ten cases (9.8 percent), this involved rape, while in more than a quarter of cases (25.4 percent), it involved touching without mutual consent (caressing, kissing and/or groping).
Next step
Until now, the university had only organised informal workshops and lectures on the subject, for example on sexual consent. “We now feel it is time for the next step,” says spokesperson Koen Augustijn. “The time has come to remove the voluntary aspect and put this issue even more firmly on the agenda.” The university had previously signed a manifesto by Amnesty International, thereby committing itself to doing more to combat sexual misconduct.
According to the umbrella organisation Universities of the Netherlands, Maastricht is the first university to make education on this subject mandatory for an entire cohort.