Comes after professor Eyal Ben-Ari placed under house arrest for allegedly sexually assaulting at least 10 female doctoral students.
By JPOST.COM STAFFHU rapist 224.88(photo credit: Channel 2)
Intimate relations, including consensual sexual relations, between teacher and student, will be prohibited if a proposed regulation approved by the Standing Committee of the Hebrew University's Senate on Sunday is approved by its full Senate in November.
The proposal comes after Hebrew University Sociology and Anthropology professor Eyal Ben-Ari was placed under house arrest at the beginning of August for allegedly sexually assaulting at least 10 female doctoral students over the last decade.
The allegations stemmed from an anonymous letter sent by several female students to the university's administration stating that they had been raped and coerced into having sex with Ben-Ari, who had threatened to cut off their grant money if they refused. Those who refused, according to the letter, were treated miserably and quickly dropped as advisees. The women maintained that Ben-Ari had also misused grant money to arrange trysts abroad and to buy them gifts.
According to the proposal, intimate relations between a student and teacher at a time when there is a relationship of academic authority between them constitutes a conflict of interest that endangers the educational and professional training processes, creates an improper learning and public atmosphere, and is liable to lead to misuse of authority.
Therefore, teachers must refrain from all intimate contacts with students as long as there is any kind of academic authoritative ties between them. If there has been any kind of intimate relationship, the teacher must immediately cease all contact involving academic authority over the student or report immediately to his academic superior the existence of such relations so that the latter will act to end the academic relationship. Violation of these procedures will constitute a disciplinary violation.
According to the pro-rector, Prof. Miri Gur-Arye, this arrangement does not replace existing regulations regarding sexual harassment. "In cases in which intimate relations between a student and teacher are based on someone taking advantage of a situation, then existing rules regarding sexual harassment or even state criminal laws will be applied."
Gur-Arye added that "the basis of this suggested new regulation is that while intimate relations alone may not involve actual taking advantage of a situation, to prevent the danger that they will lead to that, the teacher has an obligation to refrain from such intimate relations with a student taking one of his courses, or with a student that he is mentoring."
Ehud Zion Waldocks and Etgar Lefkovits contributed to this report.
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