Digital defenders: Students address sexual harassment in campus via TikTok in Timor-Leste

Meet Santiago Soares Ribeiro and Amansya Deliana, third-year Veterinary students at the National University of Timor Lorosa’e (UNTL), who have been advocating for a safer campus through TikTok videos. On 8 March 2024, in celebration of International Women’s Day, these two creative thinkers joined other 42 other UNTL students in a ‘TikTok Video Competition to Promote Safety on Campus’, sponsored by the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), and won the competition.    

The competition began with a comprehensive workshop on gender equality and gender-based violence, which equipped all competitors with valuable knowledge and skills. This workshop heightened Deliana and Soares Ribeiro’s awareness of their own experiences and actions. For Deliana, the competition became an empowering platform to speak up and share her story of being a survivor of sexual harassment on campus and in her neighborhood.

“Now, I shouldn’t be afraid to speak up and seek support. Usually, I would keep quiet out of insecurity from all the harassment I encountered from my friends or even lecturers on campus,” shared Deliana. She also reflected on her friend’s fear of consulting with a professor due to the fear of being harassed.

Conversely, Soares Ribeiro shared his story of being a harasser in the past. “I can’t count how many times I’ve harassed women. Some classmates even cried, and I never thought about the pressure they went through.”

Now that both students are aware, they say they are committed to speaking up and becoming active bystanders.

“I will no longer stay quiet,” said Deliana.

Meanwhile, Soares Ribeiro vowed: “I will no longer engage in such behavior.”

Despite many competitors having no prior experience making TikTok videos, including Deliana, or most of them just posting for fun, like Soares Ribeiro, the teams effectively conveyed their stories in one-minute videos.

Within two days, 14 competing teams had submitted public service announcement (PSA) videos depicting experiences of sexual harassment, empowering survivors to speak up and seek support, and encouraging others to become active bystanders on campus.

Acknowledging the prevalence of these issues on campus, competitors say they are determined to continue their advocacy by sharing more videos to raise awareness within the campus community through digital spaces. The competition videos also have been published on the university’s website and screened at the university’s management meetings following an initiative by the Rector, after hearing some of the students’ experiences, including some who had to delay their graduation due to fear of being harassed.

“All lecturers at the university must be aware of sexual harassment,” stated UNTL Rector João Soares Martins. “There have been cases involving them. By empowering students to speak up, we can promote a safer learning space for all.”

Both Deliana and Soares Ribeiro admitted that almost every day they witness women being harassed on campus. This harassment includes incidents such as being blocked in corridors or catcalled. As a result, many women avoid certain areas of the campus, choosing instead to stay away from places where they feel vulnerable and unsafe.

Deliana explains that beyond the university campus, she fears taking certain paths at night due to the risk of harassment. “It makes me scared. It’s not secure for a woman to take that path at night,” she shares. Deliana recalls being harassed by a neighbor when she was in the 5th grade, an incident that continues to traumatize her even after eight years.

However, through the Safe Campus Initiative and her participation in the knowledge-sharing sessions organized by UN Women, Deliana has learned where and how to seek support if she encounters or witnesses any form of sexual violence on campus. She now knows to reach out to the counseling center at UNTL, Fokupers, or the police.

Deliana and Soares Ribeiro believe that creating a safe campus community will provide more productive learning opportunities for students and foster respect within the community.

The Technical Working Group of the Safe Campus Initiative, which includes representatives such as students, professors, and the Counseling Unit, recommended organizing a TikTok competition. This initiative is led by the Vice-Rector of Student Affairs, with technical support from UN Women and Fokupers.

Recognizing TikTok as a widely used social media platform among youth, the competition leverages its popularity to effectively engage students and raise awareness about sexual harassment and other forms of violence against women and girls on campuses. The competition also aims to garner support for the development of a UNTL-owned program addressing these critical issues under ‘Together for Equality’, a joint program by UN Women, UNDP, UNFPA, and IOM, funded by KOICA.