Sexual harassment in
India: 'The story you never wanted to hear'
By Daphne
Sashin and Katie
Hawkins-Gaar, CNN
August 20, 2013 -- Updated 1824 GMT (0224
HKT)
Michaela
Cross shared her experiences of repeated sexual harassment while
studying abroad in India.
(CNN) -- Michaela Cross, an
American student at the University of Chicago, has written a
powerful account of her study abroad trip to India last year,
during which she says she experienced relentless sexual harassment,
groping and worse.
Upon her
return, she says she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress
disorder and is now on a mental leave of absence from the school
after a public breakdown in the spring.
Cross, a fair-skinned, red-haired South Asian studies major, titled
her story "India: The Story You Never Wanted to Hear." She posted her account on CNN
iReport under the username
RoseChasm.
Her story has struck a chord around the world, racking up about
350,000 page views as of Tuesday morning. It quickly found its way
to India, where many readers sympathized with the story and men
felt compelled to apologize for the experience she endured. Others
called for greater perspective and warned against making
generalizations about India or its people.
India's deadly gang rape of a 23-year-old woman in New Delhi
happened a few days after Cross left India in December, and she
said that helped others understand what she and her classmates went
through. The country has continued to see
several high-profile cases of rape and sexual violence
cases since then, and the government has introduced
tougher laws and punishment for sexual crimes.
On
her return, Cross struggled to find a way to talk about a cultural
experience that was both beautiful and traumatizing, she said in
her essay.
She writes:
"Do
I tell them about our first night in the city of Pune, when we
danced in the Ganesha festival, and leave it at that? Or do I go on
and tell them how the festival actually stopped when the American
women started dancing, so that we looked around to see a circle of
men filming our every move?
"Do I tell them about bargaining at the bazaar for beautiful saris
costing a few dollars a piece, and not mention the men who stood
watching us, who would push by us, clawing at our breasts and
groins?
"When people compliment me on my Indian sandals, do I talk about
the man who stalked me for 45 minutes after I purchased them, until
I yelled in his face in a busy crowd?"
Later, she writes: "For three months I lived this way, in a
traveler's heaven and a woman's hell. I was stalked, groped,
masturbated at; and yet I had adventures beyond my imagination. I
hoped that my nightmare would end at the tarmac, but that was just
the beginning."
A university spokesman confirmed Cross is a student at the school
and would not comment on her mental leave. He said the school is
committed to students' safety at home and
abroad.
Cross said she didn't say anything to the professors on the trip
until things reached "a boiling point" -- what she called two rape
attempts in 48 hours.
Dipesh Chakrabarty, a University of Chicago
professor who was in India for the first three weeks of the
session, told CNN that he was unaware of Cross' situation. He
noted, though, that the university tries to prepare students for
what they might encounter while abroad. The Civilizations Abroad in
India program was based in the city of Pune, but the students
traveled to other areas during the semester.
"Both faculty and staff in Chicago and our local Indian staff
counsel students before and during the trip about precautions they
need to take in a place like India," Chakrabarty said in an e-mail.
"Ensuring student safety and well-being is the top priority of both
the College and staff and faculty associated with the
program."
The university provided this statement to CNN:
"Nothing is more important to us at the
University of Chicago than caring for the safety and well-being of
our students, here in Chicago and wherever they go around the world
in the course of their studies. The University offers extensive
support and advice to students before, during and after their trips
abroad, and we are constantly assessing and updating that
preparation in light of events and our students' experiences. We
also place extremely high value on the knowledge our students seek
by traveling and studying other civilizations and cultures, and we
are committed to ensuring they can do so in safety while enriching
their intellectual lives."
Her
story sparked a wave of reaction online, with scores of Indians
responding, many with sympathy to her plight and pointing out that
Indian women also experience high levels of harassment and
abuse.
Arvind Rao, a media professional in Mumbai, was moved to post this
comment on her story: "It thoroughly disgusts me to be known as an
Indian male ... An apology is extremely meager for all the trauma
you've gone through." He expressed hope that politicians would
"wake up and implement stricter laws against crime and sexual
harassment on women."
"Every time my
girlfriend goes out alone, I pray that she comes back home safely,"
wrote a commenter using the name Jajabar. "Being an Indian male, I
apologize."
Others, however, observed that sexual harassment was by no means
confined to India, and Indian commenter Sam1967 warned against
condemning his home country when so many others failed to protect
the women living within their borders.
"I
accept what happened was definitely an embarrassment and a cause of
trauma for her that might haunt her for the rest of her life. But
this has happened in many other countries or places and therefore
it may not be the right thing to single out
India."
Another woman who said she was on the same
University of Chicago sponsored trip to India, posted a response on CNN
iReport calling on people to resist stereotyping Indian men and
recognize that sexual assault happens all over the
world.
The student, Katherine Stewart, said she dealt with her own share
of harassment on the trip, but "in my experiences in India, I have
met a solid handful of warm and honest Indian men -- men who are
also college students, men who also love the thrill of riding on a
motorcycle in the busy streets, men who defended me at necessary
times, and men who took the time to get to know me and my culture.
And that should not at all be surprising."
Stewart said she believed Cross "had every right to tell her story"
and in no way wanted to lessen the significance of her experience.
But Stewart, who is black, cautioned that "when we do not make the
distinction that only some men of a population commit a crime, we
develop a stereotype for an entire population. And when we develop
a negative stereotype for a population, what arises?
Racism."
One thing is certain: Cross sparked a huge discussion with a story
that she thought no one wanted to hear. She said she is thankful
for her experiences in India, and wants to see more international
exposure about what women travelers and residents
endure.
"Truth is a gift, a burden, and a responsibility. And I mean to
share it," she writes. "This is the story you don't want to hear
when you ask me about India. But this is the story you
need."
CNN's Sarah Brown contributed to this story.
