Allegations of pressure for sexual favours in exchange for academic assistance have surfaced at the University of the South Pacific (USP).

A former student, who spoke to Shine a Light on the condition of not being named, said her lecturer offered to only help her if she obliged to his request to go to his home.

She needed help with her assignment. As a young and naïve woman, she looked to her lecturer for help.

“We had consultation hours, so I went to see him. He told me he would only help me if I had gone to his home to do the assignment together.”

She never obliged to his request. She had heard stories about other female students going to his home.

After telling her friends and having lost hope in her assignment, she dropped the course for two semesters. She feared coming into contact with her lecturer.

She studied the unit again after a change in lecturer, she said.

She feared that the lecturer had also tried similar actions on other students.

Complaints lodged

A senior woman staff member of the university confirmed to Shine a Light that there had been instances of sexual harassment and formal complaints had been lodged.

She said complaints had resulted in those staff members being suspended and disciplinary process took its course…to read the full account from our Shine A Light Investigative Reporter and Editor Ivamere Nataro by subscribing to the Fiji Sun e-edition.

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•  Shine A Light is the Fiji Sun Investigative Project

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