Sexual harassment in colleges and universities in India: options for students
Recognise sexual harassment and retaliation on or around campus, understand internal and outside routes, and protect education, privacy and safety while choosing what to do.
In this guide
What campus harassment can include
Harassment can come from a student, teacher, researcher, warden, coach, staff member, visitor or online group. A campus duty can continue when off-campus conduct affects safety or education.
Unwanted sexual conduct is not a campus tradition
Touching, sexual comments, requests, stalking, exposure, sexual messages, image-based abuse, forced kissing or threats are not made acceptable by dating, friendship, clothing or a prior yes.
Power can be academic or residential
Grades, recommendations, attendance, research access, hostel rooms, scholarships, teams and visas can make refusal costly. A student does not owe an authority figure intimacy or silence.
Retaliation is part of the risk
Rumours, grade threats, isolation, outing, account attacks, schedule changes, eviction from a hostel or pressure to withdraw can follow a report or boundary.
Digital conduct can affect campus safety
Forwarding an intimate image, deepfake, doxxing, location tracking or group harassment can affect education even when it began outside the institution.
Children have different safeguards
If a student is under eighteen, child-protection duties and confidentiality limits may apply. Ask the institution to explain the route without making the child confront the person alleged to have caused harm.
Campus and outside routes
A student can ask what each route can do, what it must share, how retaliation will be addressed and whether she can use more than one route. No internal committee replaces urgent safety or medical care.
UGC regulations provide a higher-education framework
The UGC Regulations on sexual harassment of women employees and students in higher educational institutions apply to higher-education institutions. Confirm the current campus policy, committee name and contact details.
POSH may cover workplace conduct
The POSH Act and an Internal Committee may be relevant to employees, interns or workplace conduct, while a student complaint may also involve UGC or institutional procedures. Ask which process fits the person and setting.
A criminal complaint is a separate choice
Assault, stalking, threats, sexual violence, confinement or digital offences may engage criminal law. A student can seek advice about timing and safety; an internal process does not decide criminal guilt.
Legal aid can explain the map
Legal-services authorities and NALSA can help compare a campus complaint, police route, protection, records and support. Ask for an accessible and confidential appointment.
Emergency and medical support come first
Use 112 for immediate danger, seek urgent medical care when needed and ask for a private support person. Do not delay care to prepare a perfect complaint.
Document and report safely
A student can choose how much to record and when to report. Keep education, housing, health and digital safety in the plan.
Save the basic facts
Note date, time, place, people, exact words or conduct, witnesses, academic or housing impact and any response. Separate what you saw from what someone told you.
Keep messages and account details
Preserve relevant emails, messages, URLs, usernames, call records and notices when safe. Do not forward intimate material or ask friends to circulate it as proof.
Ask for the process in writing
Request the committee or officer’s contact, confidentiality limits, deadlines, interim measures, support person rules, appeal or review route and how retaliation will be monitored.
Protect your device and location
Use a safer device if an account or phone is monitored. Review location sharing, recovery email, shared passwords and hostel access before changing settings if discovery could increase danger.
Ask for interim academic and housing measures
A class, supervisor, hostel, timetable, transport or exam arrangement may be changed to keep access open. The burden should not automatically fall on the student who reported harm.
| What happened and when | Safe contact | Support or interim measure wanted |
|---|---|---|
Support for students and friends
A good response lets the student keep agency and education. Do not turn a disclosure into a group investigation or public campaign without consent.
Listen and believe without interrogating
Say it was not her fault and ask what feels safer. Do not ask why she was there, why she drank, why she did not fight or why she did not report sooner.
Do not confront or message the accused
A confrontation can increase retaliation, reveal a safety plan or create a disciplinary conflict. Seek specialist advice first.
Protect privacy in shared spaces
Do not post, forward screenshots, tell classmates, contact family or reveal a hostel room without permission, subject to a clear safeguarding or emergency duty.
Offer practical help
Go with her to a health service, help find the official contact, arrange transport, protect notes, provide food or childcare and check in through the safe channel she chooses.
Keep the relationship non-controlling
The student decides whether to report, pause, transfer, stay, leave or seek counselling where possible. A friend should not take over her phone, money, documents or story.
What colleges and universities must build
A committee is only useful when students can reach it safely, understand its process and remain enrolled without punishment or forced reconciliation.
Publish a usable route
Name the committee, email, office, after-hours contact, language access, confidentiality limits, timeframes, appeal route and emergency alternatives in every campus location and online space.
Prevent conflicts of interest
A complaint should not be handled by the reported person, a direct evaluator or someone whose housing or funding decision could punish the student. Explain how a conflict is changed.
Provide interim protection
Consider no-contact directions, schedule or supervisor changes, safe transport, hostel arrangements, attendance flexibility, exam support and digital access without making the student relocate by default.
Protect records and prevent retaliation
Limit information to authorised responders, preserve relevant institutional material and track grades, attendance, housing, rumours, threats and account attacks after a report.
Teach consent and power before a crisis
Use clear scenarios, bystander choices, digital consent, child safeguards and support routes. Pay student and survivor advisers for their expertise and do not demand personal disclosures.
Questions people ask
Do I have to report to my college?
Not every person must use an internal route immediately. Ask what the institution must share, what support it can offer and whether another safe route is available. Immediate danger and child-protection duties can change the options.
Can I complain without perfect evidence?
You can describe what happened and ask what evidence or support the process accepts. Do not risk your safety to collect intimate material or delay medical care.
What if the accused is my teacher or supervisor?
Ask for a conflict-free contact, interim academic protection and an outside advice route. You should not have to negotiate grades or recommendations with the person alleged to have caused harm.
Can an institution force mediation?
Mediation or reconciliation is not automatically safe or appropriate for sexual harassment, violence or a power imbalance. Ask a qualified adviser about the process and your consent.
What can a friend say?
‘I believe you. You do not have to decide everything today. I can help you find a safe contact and protect your education without sharing this without asking.’
Related practical guides
Related issue guides
Sources and publication record
Draft prepared 16 September 2026; project-team editorial review pending · Sources checked .
- UGC Regulations on sexual harassment of women employees and students in higher educational institutions, 2015University Grants Commission
- Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013India Code, Legislative Department
- Handbook on Prevention of Sexual Harassment of Women at WorkplaceNational Legal Services Authority
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023India Code, Legislative Department
- Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023India Code, Legislative Department
- Information Technology Act, 2000India Code, Legislative Department
- National Cyber Crime Reporting PortalIndian Cybercrime Coordination Centre, Ministry of Home Affairs
- Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012India Code, Legislative Department
- Child Helpline 1098Ministry of Women and Child Development
- Emergency Response Support System 112Ministry of Home Affairs
- Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987India Code, Legislative Department
- Free legal services and National Legal Aid Helpline 15100National Legal Services Authority