Around the world, attacks on scholars, students, staff, and their institutions occur with alarming frequency. These attacks are carried out by a range of state and non-state actors, including armed militants and extremist groups, police and military forces, government authorities, off-campus groups, and even members of higher education communities, among others.
Through its Academic Freedom Monitoring Project, Scholars at Risk (SAR) responds to these attacks by identifying and tracking key incidents, with the aim of protecting vulnerable individuals, raising awareness, encouraging accountability, and promoting dialogue and understanding that can help prevent future threats.
Free to Think 2020 is the sixth installment of an annual report by SAR’s Academic Freedom Monitoring Project, analyzing 341 attacks on higher education communities in 58 countries between September 1, 2019, and August 31, 2020. Click here to read the report.