Swiss universities are tackling sexual harassment. Are they getting it right?

The #metoo movement has pushed universities to react to sexual harassment. But students and staff at Swiss universities say more needs to be done. Last June, Corinne Charbonnel, a 57-year-old French professor of astrophysics at the University of Geneva, found the courage to let out her cry of pain. Speaking in front of an attentive and almost all-female audience during a conference in Geneva about sexual harassment in academia, her voice cracked as she spoke of what some women scientists have had to endure during their careers. Charbonnel took up the role of mentor for other women scientists ten years ago. During that time, she supported around 60 mentees at various stages of their careers, from PhD students to junior professors. Unlike a grievance officer, who collects complaints, a mentor gives advice on how to write grants or how to obtain research collaborations, for example. "Women apply to mentoring programmes because they want a career in academia, not because they have...