February 15, 2010 update: This story originally contained the name of a researcher who filed a complaint against her supervisor and the University of Hawaii. This information has been redacted from the online version of the story.

A Chinese scientist was allegedly recruited by a University of Hawai’i professor, who offered the possibility of an academic job, potential business opportunities, and scientific advancement at the same time he demanded sex from her, according to a pair of lawsuits filed earlier this year.

Although the relationship initially appeared consensual, it quickly turned abusive after the woman arrived in Hawai’i, the suit alleges. She was physically assaulted after attempting to end the relationship, and then faced threats and retaliation when the professor and others in her college tried to stop a complaint from being filed, according to charges contained in the suit.

The case illustrates the difficulty faced by university administrators in protecting foreign students and staff, or even effectively investigating allegations of sexual exploitation in a setting where language problems, cultural issues, career concerns and visa pressures all work to discourage complaints from victims.

In a survey released earlier this week by the university, 10 percent of women at the Manoa campus reported being sexually abused during their time at UH, and 2 percent reported being raped.

According to parallel complaints filed by Honolulu attorney Peter Hsieh in both state and federal court, a researcher* contacted Professor Qing Xiao Li in April 2004 about the availability of post-doctoral research positions on the Manoa campus. At the time, the researcher was completing a Ph.D. at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

In the world of modern scientific research, students earning doctorate degrees must then spend several years in post-doctoral research jobs before being able to advance into full faculty positions, according to a 1999 report by a committee of the Association of American Universities. Most postdocs continue to be ‘identified and recruited principally through professional contacts with faculty members,’ the report found, making them heavily reliant on their faculty mentors and, in some cases, vulnerable to abuse.

Li, a widely published professor of molecular biosciences and bioengineering in the UH College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR), arranged to interview the researcher while he was traveling in China in August 2004. After that meeting, Li immediately began e-mailing and telephoning her, speaking romantically, and telling her he ‘wanted her sexually’ while holding out the possibility of pursuing her research at UH, the lawsuit alleges.

The two met again in China in September 2004 and this time the two did have sex, the suit claims. In November 2004, the researcher was offered a position as a post-doctoral fellow in Li’s laboratory.

The professor then ‘took advantage of Plaintiff’s vulnerability to force her to submit herself to his unwelcome sexual advances,’ the suit alleges.

The university is also named as a defendant in the suits, along with the department chairman and another UH official because they allegedly failed to follow established policies for reporting and investigating instances of possible harassment or abuse.

The researcher, who has since left the Islands, declined to comment on the lawsuit at this time, saying through a friend and former neighbor that she still does not feel safe, even after getting a job at another university. Her attorney did not respond to several telephone and e-mail messages left at his downtown Honolulu office.

Professor Li and Christine Tamashiro, UH assistant general counsel, declined to comment on the case. However, in answers filed in state court, the defendants have all denied the key allegations and say they did nothing wrong.

Some of the specific instances of harassment and retaliation, including one alleged sexual assault, took place after a July 2006 incident brought the case to the attention of top UH administrators.

According to a description of the July incident contained in the suit, Li allegedly punched, hit and slapped the researcher after she rejected his sexual advances while the two were reviewing the manuscript of her first article to be published in the U.S. She suffered bruises and other injuries, and was taken to St. Francis Hospital by friends following the assault.

Instead of pursuing an investigation, as required by university policies, the department chairman and other faculty and staff allegedly pressured the researcher to drop her complaint and resolve the matter privately.

The researcher says she was told others would ‘take care of her’ if she did not go forward with a formal complaint, and she was offered a job in another lab for two years on the condition she drop the issue, the suit charges.

Although the university does not prohibit personal relationships between faculty and staff or students, it warns such romantic or sexual relationships ‘are inappropriate when they occur between teachers or other employees of the University and individuals they teach, evaluate or supervise.’

For more stories by Ian Lind, visit [ilind.net]

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