NUS Review Committee proposes tougher sanctions for sexual misconduct offences
SINGAPORE — The National University Singapore (NUS) Review Committee has proposed tougher sanctions for sexual misconduct offences following a public outcry over a peeping tom incident in a university hostel.
In an email to students on Wednesday (15 May), committee chair Kay Kuok proposed a minimum one calendar year suspension period from the university for sexual misconduct offences and an expulsion for severe offences.
The committee also suggested a certification of rehabilitation by a counsellor or a medical professional before an offender is permitted to return to campus after a suspension or expulsion.
Further, the offender’s transcript will be annotated to reflect his or her suspension and the notation will remain on transcript for “a period of time” after graduation. The email did not reveal how long the notation would remain.
Earlier, the university had revealed that it gave first-time offenders a chance and did not expel them immediately. Students found guilty of sexual misconduct a second time will be expelled.
The review comes after 23-year-old Monica Baey took to Instagram in April to express her frustration over the penalties that an undergraduate who filmed her showering on 25 November last year had been given.
The offender was suspended from school for a semester and banned from entering Eusoff Hall. He was also told to write an apology letter to Baey and undergo mandatory counselling.
The posts triggered a discussion about how universities handled sexual misconduct cases, with many criticising the NUS’ current “second strike and you are out” policy.
Education Minister Ong Ye Kung also described the penalties in Baey’s case as “manifestly inadequate”.
As part of the proposed policies, Kuok, who is on NUS’ Board of Trustees, said that the committee is reviewing the university’s proposal to establish a dedicated care unit for victims of sexual misconduct offences. The unit would be staffed by “trained and experienced care officers to support victims from the point of the incident until special care is no longer required,” added Kuok in the email to students.
She added that the committee would be holding more engagement sessions with students, alumni and experts over the next three weeks and that an independent research consultancy has been commissioned to conduct an online survey with the student body.
The committee will publish its final report by mid-June.
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