Cases of sexual harassment in higher education institutions in Mozambique go almost unreported and of those that are recorded, less than half are resolved.

Today in Maputo, the Center for Public Integrity presented an illustrative study showing that between 2019 and 2022, 30 complaints were registered, of which 15 were filed, nine were resolved by order and six are in progress for possible resolution.

The data was collected from educational institutions, public institutions and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in the provinces of Maputo (city), Inhambane, Manica and Tete.

"The number of complaints is far from reflecting the reality of existing cases due to the lack of credibility in the mechanisms for reporting and protecting whistleblowers," reads the report.

The CIP data also indicates that "six out of ten female students attending higher education in Mozambique have already suffered sexual harassment by their teachers. Most of the victims don't report it for fear of academic reprisals, and the few who do have the courage to report it don't receive the support they deserve. The cases end up being shelved.

From the NGO's perspective, the results represent the tip of the iceberg of a greater number [of cases] omitted by the victims for fear of academic reprisals and for discrediting the existing reporting channels.

At the time, the Rector of the Pedagogical University, Jorge Ferrão, stressed the need to improve reporting mechanismsalthough the existing ones are running on half-gas.