July 3: A group of students took out a rally at Jadavpur University on Monday to protest the report of the university's Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) on a sexual harassment case on the campus.

In July 2016, three complaints were lodged with the university authorities by female students against a male student from the English department, the son of a teacher in the department. The ICC report, submitted to the university authorities on June 30, the complainants said, is completely unacceptable as it is just a "database" of the parties concerned and avoids taking a stand by saying the committee is unable to investigate the case as the complaints were lodged more than six months after the last incident of harassment took place.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines, formed according to the Sexual Harassment Act, 2013, and applicable to institutions under the UGC, stipulate that complaints on sexual harassment must be lodged within that period. However, the protesters, under the banner of WASH (Women against Sexual Harassment), said the state women's commission, which they had moved, had advised the committee that the provision may be overlooked.

In August 2015, one of the complainants had spoken of her sexual harassment by the accused to one of the departmental professors.

"The report only recommends the university needs gender sensitisation," said a complainant in the case, expressing disappointment.

The protesters met JU vice-chancellor Suranjan Das, who has given them a month to submit their views on the report. The protesters are planning to seek legal advice.

WASH members also spoke about the ongoing sexual harassment cases at Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI). A student of SRFTI, a complainant in a sexual harassment case, demanded the resignation of their current director, criticising his stand on the SRFTI cases being heard in court.

WASH was formed in March with three students from SRFTI and one from JU who had experienced sexual violence on campus. WASH can be accessed through its blog online or by writing to washwomenwash@gmail.com. It is currently a group of about 30 students.

"The objective is to keep records of sexual violence, to show that it really happens. So far our protests have been about campus violence, but everyone is welcome to this forum to talk about their experience. We want to create as much noise as possible, so that victim-blaming stops," said a complainant who had started WASH.