The controversy arose after Dr Dylan Evans, a lecturer in behavioural science at the school of medicine in UCC, showed a female colleague, Dr Rossana Salerno Kennedy, lecturer in medical education at the same university, a research paper which found that fruit bats engage in oral sex.

According to Dr Evans, there was nothing premeditated about him showing the paper to his colleague in her office, and it did not occur to him that she might find it offensive as it was a formal publication in a scientific journal.

“If we cannot discuss scientific articles about topics directly related to our own research, published in leading peer-reviewed international journals, with colleagues in the same department, this bodes very ill for informed inquiry and debate,” Dr Evans said.

For her part, Dr Salerno Kennedy said Dr Evans invited her to read and comment on the paper, and she felt harassed by his behaviour which she considered inappropriate and offensive. She added that it wasn’t the first time Dr Evans had raised sexual subjects with her.

“I felt hurt and disgusted and therefore decided to make a complaint,” she said in her letter of complaint.

The human resources department at UCC ordered an inquiry. Considerable conflict of evidence was found by external experts Sheena Clohessy and John Horgan who interviewed both parties.

The investigators found the actions of Dr Evans up until November 2nd did not constitute sexual harassment and said the complaints by the female lecturer were not malicious. 

They upheld the complaint over the November 2nd incident with the paper on bats, adding “it was not Dr Evans’s intention to cause offence”.

Dr Evans was asked by UCC president Dr Michael Murphy to engage in counselling and to complete a period of monitoring. He was also warned that disciplinary procedures would be invoked if any further complaint of sexual harassment was upheld against him in future. 

Dr Evans disputed that a finding of sexual harassment had been upheld.

Now however, thanks to the internet, the case has escalated into a global controversy over academic freedom and UCC is under pressure from lecturers around the world (including Dr Evans) who claim that it contradicts the principles of academic freedom to punish him for discussing research with a colleague. 
 
Dr Evans, who is being supported by the Irish Federation of University Teachers, has launched an online petition seeking support for the reversal of the sanctions. He says he has received letters from leading academics, including Professor Patrick Bateson, Provost of King's College Cambridge.
(Sources: Irish Times, Irish Independent, Irish Examiner)