Project: Intersectional identities and Sexual harassment: A systematic review of intersectional studies in Higher education institutions
Call for the Post of Research Assistant 1 Post (On Contract)
Duration: 3 months and 19 days (November 3, 2025 – February 21, 2026)
Research indicates that students from marginalised backgrounds face specific and additional challenges when disclosing sexual violence, linked to their intersectional identities (Crenshaw, 1989). Intersectionality dismisses the notion of a single-axis analysis and instead explores how various power structures and interconnected identities—such as (but not limited to) ‘race’, class, gender, sexuality, age, caste, and ability—interact. The idea of mutual constitution suggests that experiences of sexual violence and responses to them cannot be fully understood from a single identity viewpoint; instead, the intersections of identities generate complex and diverse realities. For instance, marginalised students might encounter different ‘types’ of sexual violence that coincide with other forms of oppression, like sexual racism or transphobia. Black, ethnically marginalised, Dalit students could be fetishised or exoticised, while transgender students might face sexual violence rooted in transphobia and the denial of their gender identity. For feminist, anti-race, and anti-caste scholars, intersectionality has become the main analytical tool to understand identity and oppression. However, it has turned into a buzzword and suffers from methodological ambiguity. Despite using intersectionality as a key analytical approach, there has been little discussion on its methodological use. According to Jennifer Nash (2008), “Intersectionality invites scholars to come to terms with the legacy of exclusions of multiply marginalised subjects from feminist and antiracist work, and the impact of those absences on both theory and practice.” Intersectionality thus helps us recognise failures in current approaches to campus sexual violence prevention and response.
This research project will provide an overview of existing knowledge on intersectional research on sexual harassment in higher education. Since it relies on secondary literature, it will review a broad range of academic writings on the topic and examine key themes in the field, such as the redress mechanism, and explore its links with prevalence, prevention, reporting, due process, support structures, gender relations among committee members, research methodology, and both theoretical and conceptual frameworks, while concentrating on the following questions.
- How have studies on sexual harassment in higher education applied intersectional frameworks?
- What are the main trends, themes, and methodological approaches used in intersectional research on sexual harassment in this context?
- How have the researchers identified the power structures within due process? In other words, analyse how systems of power render certain identities either invisible or visible, thereby enabling or disabling authority.
- What are the recognised limitations and emerging directions for intersectional research on sexual harassment in higher education?
Roles and Responsibilities
- The Candidate should be sensitive to and have a good understanding of intersectional violence in higher education.
- Proficient in Hindi and English languages
- The candidate should be able to review secondary literature and policy documents, and collate relevant secondary data and its analysis under the overall guidance of the Project Director.
- The candidate should be able to coordinate and supervise all field-related project activities, including communicating with relevant stakeholders, filing RTIs, and conducting in-depth interviews in consultation with the Project Director.
- Any other tasks assigned by the Project Director
Preferred Candidates
A postgraduate qualification in any social sciences discipline with at least 55% marks (along with NET/M.Phil/ PhD). Candidates with publications in areas such as gender, caste, violence, education, and intersectionality will be given additional weightage.
Candidates from historically marginalised communities and women are strongly encouraged to apply.
Remuneration: Salary is 37,000/- per month.
Application Process: Interested individuals can send their updated CV to vandana@cwds.ac.in by 26 October 2025.
Only short-listed candidates will be invited for an online interview.
Dr. Vandana – Project Director