Jordan university sexual harassment sparks national conversation

The allegations against a professor at the Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) began as a trickle, but quickly turned into a deluge, first online, and then on national media. The hashtag #TechnoHarrasser as the case became known went viral at the start of June and eventually led to the physics professor’s suspension from work, and a referral to Jordan’s prosecutor general’s office for further investigation. The case has shocked Jordanians, both because of the number of students who decided to share their accounts of alleged sexual harassment by the professor, but also because it has led to a wider debate about the prevalence of sexual harassment in Jordanian society. A 2017 JNCW study on harassment in Jordan found that 68.7 percent of respondents had experienced physical sexual harassment and that almost nine-tenths had experienced nonverbal and verbal sexual harassment.