| dc.description.abstract | The media has been awash with news of claims about sexual relationships between students
and lecturers at Makerere University, which often is termed as sexual harassment. Such news
often received mixed reactions from the university administration. While sometimes the
administration would ultimately deny the allegations, in some situations it would respond by
putting in place committees to investigate the claims. Although these relationships seem
inevitable, they are highly sensitive, taboo, and uncomfortable to talk about even when they
occur within legal boundaries. Against this background, therefore, the study sought to examine
the context in which sexual relationships involving lecturers and students take place, power
dynamics involved and the associated dilemmas.
A cross-sectional case study design that utilised qualitative approach was adopted. A total of
16 in-depth interviews were conducted with third-year students who had been or were still
involved in a sexual relationship with a lecturer and those who were approached by a lecturer
for a sexual association. I also conducted eight (08) in-depth interviews with lecturers. Five
Key informant interviews with student leaders at various administrative levels were also
conducted. In addition, four focus group discussions were conducted with both male and female
students. Thematic analysis was used to analyse data where key concepts, ideas, and themes
were identified and coded, and patterns in the data categorised.
Discussions with study participants show that sexual relations between students and lecturers
often begin at two levels: consensual and non-consensual sexual relations. Consensual sexual
relations are often initiated by either students or lecturers themselves during lecture rooms,
internship placements, and offices and are often based on mutual attraction or need for money
and sometimes love. Results also show however that even sexual relationships between
students and staff that begin as something consensual often evolve into relationships involving
the exchange of sexual favors and other forms of intimacy for marks, money, and other favours.
Where relationships were initiated by students, lecturers could easily turn them down if they
were not interested. In both situations, consensual and non-consensual, sexual relationships
become a power negotiation tool and often constituted a dilemma for those who would want to
exit. In cases where relationships were initially consensual, power was often at play as students
often had to negotiate the challenges involved in turning down the lecturer. For those that start
as outright coercion, some students eventually gave in, making the relationships appear
consensual even when they were not. Relationships that evolved in exchange for sexual favours
in form of marks, the recommendation for internship placement or jobs money, and other
favours are not considered abusive by students perse until the agreed or implied conditions are
not met, or when they become public and maybe when the sexual overture was made by a
student.
Sexual relations between students and lecturers remain a controversial issue that attracts debate
on its legality, considering their enormous repercussions for both the institution and the parties
involved. As the study findings show, sexual relationships between students and lecturers are
inherently intricate and risky laced with power dynamics. While the university administration
is eager to enact rules and regulations and policies to curtail these relations, it appears, from
the results, that this approach will do little to address the challenge that often, to the parties
involved, and does not start as a challenge. It is important to understand the boundaries of what
constitutes harmful sexual relations and distinguish them from non-harmful sexual relations. | en_US |
