Student Accused of Sexual Harassment on AUC Bus
BY NADA ISMAIL
An AUC political science graduate was allegedly harassed on one of the AUC buses last Wednesday.
Holly Dagres said that she filed a report with the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action (EOAA) against her alleged harasser, a male student who asked to be referred to as W.
Dagres said that the incident happened on the Route Nine bus from Zamalek to the New Cairo Campus at 10am when W asked to sit next to her.
She added that he began small talk, which she thought was innocent at first.
“As the bus took off, I realized that he was slowly putting his arm and his leg against me,” Dagres said.
She added that at first she didn’t think much of the physical contact because it does happen quite often that you lean against the person sitting next to you by accident.
“She touched [my arm] first so I thought she’s approaching me so I approached her back and touched her arm,” said W.
He also added that Dagres did not ask him to back off.
Dagres denied that she rubbed rub her arm against W and charged that he was definitely lying.
“I’m sorry for following what my heart tells me to do,” added W.
Dagres said that by the end of the ride, W had gotten so close to her that he brushed his arm against the side of her chest.
Although she told him to back off, she added that he pretended as if it was accidental.
“I was trying to open the curtains, so I touched her stomach by mistake,” said W.
Dagres said that W could have easily reached further away to open the curtains without touching her at all.
When the Caravan asked W to describe how he touched Dagres, he proposed using this reporter to re-enact the incident.
Dagres added that she was particularly upset when W asked her if she had a boyfriend; she responded that she had a fiancée.
He asked if her fiancée was away.
“Is [he] implying that I’m going to do something with [him]? I’m very tired of [men] thinking because I’m a foreign woman that I’m going to do things with them,” Dagres added.
W said that he did in fact ask Dagres if she had a boyfriend, but he did not ask her if her boyfriend was out of town. She added that he also told her “[Egyptians] need more beautiful women like [her]”.
Dagres said that when the bus parked on campus she yelled at the student but no one appeared to come to her aid.
“I told her I’m sorry I touched her arm by accident, she told me ‘you’re only sorry because you are afraid of suspension’,” added W.
“When a security guard started taking his information, [W] started laughing like it’s a joke,” added Dagres.
W said that when asked by the security personnel to write a report, they told him to write that he sexually harassed Dagres.
“I don’t see that it is sexual harassment but I wrote so because I know that whoever confesses has a less harsh punishment,” added W.
The security office would not comment on the incident or the allegation citing an ongoing investigation. When asked to define sexual harassment, W said “it is when [someone] curses a female in a sexual way, touches her in a private part, or forces a hug or a kiss”.
“Touching arms isn’t sexual harassment. This is absurd and she is silly and looking for any excuse to file a complaint,” W added.
He also said that he believes he did not use any force. He added that since it was a mutual approach, he too was sexually harassed.
“I too was violated physically and emotionally, but I’m not that weak to go report it… The girl reports [sexual harassment] because she needs someone strong to protect her.
“A man doesn’t need that,” W said.
After Dagres posted a status update on Facebook about the incident, Hassaballah El Kafrawy, Student Union Vice-President, contacted her and took her to the EOAA office to file a complaint.
The EOAA office is responsible for all incidents of sexual, racial, and religious discrimination on campus.
“I really hope that they would ban him from the bus, maybe even suspend him for a week or two,” added Dagres. Samah Selim, Senior Manager at the EOAA office. told the Caravan that she cannot discuss any specifics of the case since it is still under investigation.
The EOAA office defines sexual harassment as any unwanted or inappropriate sexual verbal, visual or physical contact and any preferential treatment based on gender.
When a report is filed, the office collects reports from all parties involved, as well as statements from eyewitnesses.
If the suspect is found guilty, punitive measures are based on the severity of his actions, which is determined by the EOAA office.
Dagres added that another AUC student contacted her after she read her Facebook post and told her that she had experienced the same incident with the same student.
“I was on the Zamalek bus [more than a year ago] and I usually take a nap on the bus, …and I suddenly feel like the guy [sitting next to me] is getting too close to me and he tries to move his hands and his arms in a fishy manner,” said the girl who preferred to remain anonymous.
She added that the student was leaning on her to the extent that he was taking up half her seat.
The girl shared the student’s Facebook profile with Dagres; they both confirmed it was the same person who harassed them in alleged separate incidents.
“Given that other women have shared a similar story about him shows that I’m obviously not lying, because I’m not the first person that had this incident with him,” added Dagres.
On the other hand, the anonymous source decided to keep the incident unreported.
“I really want AUCians, foreign or not, if they are experiencing these issues to come forward… I really just want people to be more vocal,” Dagres said.
Dagres founded the ‘Fight Harassment 101’ sessions in AUC during 2012.
A group of female AUCians would meet weekly for 10 weeks to support each other emotionally by talking about their sexual harassment experiences.
The sessions also featured a judo instructor who taught the students self-defense tactics.
