The incidents increase the feeling of insecurity on campus, especially after sunset. Photo Resource
In recent weeks, there have been a number of incidents on and around campus in which students of Asian appearance have been harassed by young people from Wageningen. WUR is aware of this and calls on victims to report the incidents to the police and to WUR.
This is not the first time that WUR students of Asian appearance have been verbally or physically attacked by young white people from Wageningen. Street harassment seemed to have been curbed after the conviction of the perpetrators of the assault on a Chinese PhD student.
But last Friday evening, an Asian-looking student was spat on and harassed so badly at De Bongerd that she fell off her bike, while the young, blonde perpetrators shouted anti-Chinese slogans at her. Recently, there have been a number of similar incidents in the vicinity of the campus, according to inquiries made with the student associations SEASAW and CASSW.
The student emailed Resource: ‘Fortunately, a friendly man stopped and asked if I was okay and accompanied me home. I have been studying in Wageningen for over a year and have generally had positive experiences; most of the people I have met are nice and respectful. This is probably an exception, but it does raise questions about safety.’
Report it
WUR is aware of the incidents, spokesperson Jan-Willem Bol said when asked. ‘And so is the police.’ He urges victims of such violence to always report it to the police. ‘Because reporting it is crucial for the investigation. You can do this online, and you don’t need to speak Dutch: all the information is also available in English,’ he emphasizes.
And although it is not relevant from a criminal law perspective, he also asks victims to report incidents to WUR. Firstly, so that victims can be offered help, for example in the form of counseling by a student psychologist. And secondly, to keep a close eye on safety and security on and around campus: security can take this into account if certain locations turn out to be hotspots for such harassment.
Bol emphasizes that investigating the perpetrators is a matter for the police. ‘But sometimes we can help by sharing our camera footage.’ This is what happened in the investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators of the earlier violent incident.
Translation using DeepL.
