“I kept asking myself one question: If I couldn’t say it out loud, how many other students were also keeping quiet?”

It started like any other lecture.

I was a Level 100 student, still trying to adjust to university life. Everything was new—the lecture halls, the lecturers, the pressure to perform and the excitement of finally being on campus.

One lecturer often mentioned my name during lectures. At first, I thought nothing of it. I assumed he was simply trying to make the class interactive. After all, lecturers regularly call on students during lessons.

Then one day, everything changed.

After class, a teaching assistant approached me and asked for my phone number. I later understood that the lecturer wanted to contact me.

Soon, the calls and messages started. I was repeatedly asked to visit the lecturer’s office. There were also attempts to persuade me to meet privately, including offers of money. The requests became increasingly uncomfortable, and I realised that the situation was no longer about academics.

I never reported it.

Instead, I dealt with the situation by avoiding the lecturer and refusing the advances until the contact eventually stopped.

At the time, I thought staying silent was the easiest way to protect myself and my education. Looking back, however, I realise that silence can also leave people feeling alone with an experience they should never have had to manage by themselves.

Years later, one question still stays with me:

What about students who cannot handle it alone?

My experience is not being shared to seek sympathy. It is being shared because it raises a much bigger question about how universities protect students from harassment and whether students feel safe enough to report it.

For a young student, reporting a lecturer can be particularly difficult.

A lecturer may have academic authority, influence over a student’s learning environment and, depending on the circumstances, a role in assessment or academic recommendations. Even when a student knows that inappropriate behaviour is wrong, the fear of possible consequences can make speaking up difficult.

A student may worry about being labelled troublesome, being blamed for the situation, becoming the subject of gossip or facing an uncomfortable relationship with the lecturer after making a complaint.

These fears can become even stronger for students who are new to university and do not yet understand the institution’s reporting procedures.

Research conducted in Ghana has also drawn attention to sexual harassment in tertiary institutions. A 2023 study involving students from four public universities in Ghana examined experiences of sexual harassment and the ways students responded to such experiences. The study highlighted the need for stronger institutional policies and interventions to create safer learning environments.

This matters because an incident that is never reported may never enter the official record.

When students remain silent, university authorities may not have a complete picture of the problem. A lack of complaints should therefore not automatically be interpreted as evidence that harassment does not occur.

Not every student will respond to harassment in the same way.

Some may confront the person involved. Others may seek help from friends, counsellors, student leaders or university authorities. Some may avoid the person and remain silent, as I did.

For some students, the experience may affect their sense of safety and their ability to concentrate on their studies. They may begin avoiding particular classes, offices or individuals. Others may withdraw socially or lose confidence.

The effects may not always be visible to classmates or lecturers, but that does not make them insignificant.

Every student deserves to feel safe in a classroom and should not have to worry that rejecting unwanted attention could affect their education.

This is where universities have an important responsibility.

Many institutions have policies intended to address sexual harassment and other forms of inappropriate behaviour. But a policy is only effective if students know it exists, understand how to use it and trust that their complaints will be taken seriously.

Students should know where to report an incident, who receives complaints and what protections are available to them during the process.

Reporting mechanisms should be accessible and, where appropriate, confidential. Students should also be protected from retaliation for making genuine complaints.

At the same time, complaints should be handled fairly. An allegation should be taken seriously without automatically being treated as proven. Proper procedures should allow institutions to gather information, protect those involved and reach decisions based on evidence.

Fairness and protection should not be treated as opposing principles. A strong reporting system should provide both.

Universities also need to do more than wait for students to report incidents.

Prevention should begin with education.

Students should be made aware of professional and personal boundaries, available support systems and the procedures for reporting inappropriate behaviour. Lecturers and staff should also understand their responsibilities and the consequences of abusing positions of authority.

Student leaders have a role to play as well. They can help students understand their rights, direct them towards appropriate support and encourage a culture where harassment is not dismissed as a joke or something victims simply have to endure.

The wider university community must also be careful about victim-blaming.

When someone reports harassment, questions such as “Why did you go there?” or “Why didn’t you report it immediately?” can shift attention away from the alleged behaviour and place the burden on the person who experienced it.

There may be legitimate questions that investigators need to ask when establishing facts. But those questions should be part of a fair investigative process, not a way of shaming or intimidating the person making the complaint.

For a long time, I wondered whether I should tell my story.

Today, I have chosen to speak not because I want to relive that experience, but because someone else may be going through something similar right now.

My experience also taught me something important: silence does not necessarily mean that everything is fine.

Sometimes silence means a student is afraid.

Sometimes it means they do not know where to turn.

Sometimes it means they are trying to protect their education, reputation or future.

That is why universities must build systems that make it easier for students to speak when something goes wrong.

If sharing my story gives even one student the courage to seek help, report inappropriate behaviour or simply understand that they are not alone, then breaking my silence is worth it.

Universities should be places where students chase their dreams, not where they fear those entrusted with teaching them.

No student should ever have to choose between protecting their education and protecting themselves.