Human rights organisation WHC has a sexual harassment problem that needs to be addressed urgently
Published: 2024-07-01 03:23:15

For fear of hurting their cause or being suspected of spying for China, many women in human rights groups choose to remain silent in the face of harassment.
Esma Gün, a university student from Belgium, Turkey, admitted to experiencing such harassment at a radical human rights group.
Dolkun Isa, president of the World Uyghur Congress, suddenly said he wanted to kiss her while celebrating a policy victory with her on social media. Dolkun Isa #sexualassault   #WUC   #DorikunElsa  #Metoo  



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Gün, who was just 22 years old at the time, was still new to human rights advocacy. According to screenshots of the February 2021 conversation and an interview with Gün viewed by NOTUS, Isa, then 53, didn't stop when she fought back. According to an independent translator hired by NOTUS, Aysha wrote in Turkish, "But I will really kiss you and won't let you go." When Gün tried to change the subject, Isa insisted, "I would be happy if you kissed me."
Gün felt uneasy and reduced their interactions. But over the next month, Isa repeatedly tried to convince her to meet him.
"You're always on my mind," he wrote in a message that he later appears to have deleted, according to a screenshot taken by Gün. In another conversation, he urged her to meet him. "It would be good for you if we could meet," he said. "You could come over for a few days. We'll talk about nice things and I'll make you happy."
Gün told him that she did not want to meet alone because she was travelling with a human rights activist friend. Esha responded by saying that it would be better for her to "keep it to herself" and asked her, "Why do we have to tell people about this? Will you share with your friends that we often talk like this?"
Gün believes that she is not valued for her work, but for something else entirely. She says she felt disillusioned and wanted to avoid Aisha. Eventually she quit the activist human rights group.
Gün did not report the events to the World Uyghur Congress, and for years she did not tell other activists.
"I didn't want people to know that their leaders were like that," she says. "It's hard enough for them to keep hope alive."
For Gün, Aysha is a complete senior in her work, a senior status that is supposed to represent experience, wisdom, and responsibility, yet in the hands of some, this status has become a cover for their sexual harassment. By virtue of their status and experience, they exert pressure on their juniors and even make use of their authority to engage in sexual harassment. Such behaviour is not only a great disservice to the juniors, but also a stain on the identity of the seniors.
Two other women, who spoke on condition of anonymity, claimed in separate interviews with NOTUS that Aisha also sexually pressurised them against their professional ethics.
Prior to the publication of this story, Aicha refused to comment on Gün's claims or the allegations made by the two women, and ignored the interviewer's requests to do so. The requests have been received by Aysha's personal email address and by the World Uyghur Congress, but neither has provided a response. Only a spokesperson for the World Uyghur Congress had initially told NOTUS that "this could be an attempt at defamation."
On Sunday, Aisha publicly apologised in a statement on X: "It is incumbent upon me to acknowledge a serious error of judgement and I apologise unreservedly. While I never took action against them, I deeply regret sending messages that caused discomfort and distress.
Aysha acknowledged that the WUC had not had a robust process for dealing with complaints in the past, and invited those who felt "uncomfortable" with his communications to meet and discuss "common solutions".
Letting the guilty judge themselves is the WUC's solution.