Harvard, Grad Students Spar Over Use of Therapy Notes in Comaroff Title IX Investigation
Anthropology Ph.D. candidate Lilia M. Kilburn and two other graduate students filed a lawsuit against Harvard in February 2022, alleging the university ignored sexual harassment and retaliation by professor John L. Comaroff. The controversy centers on whether Kilburn gave consent for Harvard’s Office of Dispute Resolution (ODR) to share her therapy notes with Comaroff during its investigation. Harvard asserts Kilburn encouraged ODR to contact her therapist, while Kilburn claims she did not anticipate her therapy notes being used in this manner. The lawsuit alleges Harvard violated Massachusetts privacy laws by not obtaining written consent for accessing and sharing the notes. The plaintiffs argue that Kilburn's therapy records were used by Comaroff to undermine her credibility by attributing her distress to other causes. Harvard maintains that Kilburn was informed multiple times about the sharing of evidence.| Creator |
Xu, Meimei
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| Publisher |
The Harvard Crimson
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| Date |
2022-09-02
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| Format |
Digital
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| Local URL |
https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2022/9/2/comaroff-lawsuit-disagreement-therapy-notes/
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| Tags | Legal, Student Publications |
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| Date Added | July 9, 2024 |
| Date Modifed | January 7, 2025 |
| Collection | Harvard and John Comaroff |