[nzbahz]

Isn't that the way it's always worked? A friend who works at a university told me how male professors always leave the door open when they are talking with female students in their offices. They can easily ruin your life... just like that.

[emmanuel_1234]

Having worked in a French university, around 2005-2010, we actually received an explicit memo that male should not receive female students in their office without a third person being there.

[aries1980]

How does this stop two of them conspiring against the third one?

[geofft]

The way I heard it is less that "they" (the women) can ruin your life as that other people might infer something untoward which would be bad for both of you, but yes.

The other option is to have glass walls for offices instead of opaque ones, but that requires having some foresight in building architecture.

[twunde]

I knew one ex-coworker who was also a part-time professor who would always make sure that there was a second person anytime he was with a student.

[sakuul]

No, it's not!

[knorby]

The professors ruining the students' life through traumatic actions done to the students, right? I'm sure that's what you meant.

[loco5niner]

Honestly, it works both ways, unfortunately.

But an open door can protect both parties.

[nzbahz]

What's the traumatic action here? A female student not being able to force a professor to change a grade under the threat of being called a rapist?

[knorby]

Rape and sexual assault come to mind, since that's what happens far more often than blackmail for petty ends. Plenty of studies have shown how bunk your claim is. It is a sexist conspiracy theory.