Resolution on Addressing Sexual Harassment in Romanian Universities

The National Alliance of Student Organisations in Romania (ANOSR) and the European Students’ Union (ESU) affirm that every student has the right to learn, live, and grow in an academic environment free from fear, intimidation, and abuse. We reject all forms of sexual and moral harassment, and we stand in unwavering solidarity with students in Romania who have faced violations of their dignity and safety. 

Across Romania, a series of publicised harassment cases has revealed only a fraction of a deeper, systemic problem. For years, students have navigated a reality where reporting abuse felt dangerous and where procedures were unclear. A deeply rooted culture of fear, reinforced by the absence of anonymous reporting, forced countless students into silence, even when confronted with abuse of authority, coercion, and degrading treatment. This climate is not simply a governance failure; it fractures trust, harms educational outcomes, and violates fundamental human rights. No higher-education system can claim integrity while its students must choose between their safety and their degree.

Romania has recently amended its national Code of University Ethics to require university ethics committees to analyse anonymous complaints concerning sexual or moral harassment, and to refer potential criminal acts to prosecutors.

This change is a long-awaited step that finally acknowledges students’ lived realities and offers a safer pathway to speak up. It operationalises the right to anonymity and responds to years of underreporting linked to fear of retaliation. Yet progress is only meaningful if it is implemented with rigour. Without proper monitoring, resources, transparent procedures, and institutional follow-up, this measure risks remaining symbolic.

Students need more than a legal provision – they need consistency, protection, psychological support, and a system that takes every report seriously.

ANOSR and ESU call on the Romanian national authorities to:

• ensure full and uniform implementation of the new anonymous reporting framework across all universities;
• establish clear national monitoring mechanisms and public reporting practices;
• guarantee protections for complainants, including psychological support and shield measures against retaliation;
• allow universities to suspend members of the university community for the duration of the investigation conducted by the ethics committee;
• strengthen sanctions for harassment and abuse of authority and define such acts as ethical violations in the Code of University Ethics.

We call on all Romanian universities to:

• prioritise student safety through transparent procedures, functioning ethics committees, and timely responses to all reports;
• invest in prevention: staff training, student awareness programmes, and clear communication channels;
• ensure access to independent, confidential counselling and support services for victims;
• sanction the members of the university community who assist the perpetrator in concealing acts of harassment, including sexual harassment, as well as those responsible of preventing such acts who fail to fulfil their duties;
• enable the possibility for a complaint to be submitted by the victim’s legal representative;
• build cultures where speaking up does not come at the cost of one’s academic future.

Together, we demand a decisive shift: from reactive damage control to proactive protection and from isolated responses to systemic accountability. ESU and ANOSR remain committed to monitoring this new measure and to supporting every student who refuses to accept abuse as part of academic life.