The Committee appointed to investigate sexual harassment at Makerere University through a report discovered that alcohol and drug abuse among students at the university was one of the causes of the increasing cases of sexual harassment at the institute.
This five-person committee was led by the Chairperson, Prof. Sylvia Tamale. Other committee members include Assoc. Prof. Consolata Kabonesa, Prof. Christopher Mbazira, Assoc. Prof. Betty Ezati, and Assoc. Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi. On carrying out some research and investigations, they discovered that in some men’s halls of residence female cleaners and cooks do laundry for students for a small fee. An example was cited in Lumumba Hall where some male students who abuse alcohol and drugs sexually assault cleaners when they go to collect clothing for washing. It was also noted that when female students engage in excessive alcohol and drug abuse they also become vulnerable to sexual assault and other forms of abuse. Several cases of student-to-student sexual harassment and assaults reported by the respondents were attributed to predators who viewed inebriated females as targets.
However, this did not only apply to students. Some lecturers were also cited to be prone to this vice. For instance, In April 2017 two female students of medicine and surgery approached the Mentorship Committee of the College of Health Sciences (CHS) complaining of being sexually harassed by some lecturers. One of the doctors is a well-respected senior researcher who attracts a lot of funding to CHS. Under the influence of alcohol, he allegedly locks female students in his office, gropes them and makes sexually-suggestive comments to them. The students claimed that he follows some of them to their halls of residence. The female students said they felt more comfortable confiding in the female doctor who chaired the Mentorship Committee. One of them remarked, “If I report him to administration, who would the University afford to lose, me or the guy with ground-breaking research?”
