A case study on finding grounds for how to know and understand, how to act on that (partial) knowledge, but also on paradoxes involved and obstructions posed: The complexities of sexual harassment complaints from 2021 until 2023 at an arts academy.

The article examines the complexities and paradoxes of institutional procedures addressing sexual harassment complaints at the Academy of Dramatic Art (ADU), University of Zagreb, between 2021 and 2023. Initiated in response to anonymous testimonies and inspired by feminist epistemologies and relational ethics, the Commission established to handle these complaints faced challenges including procedural delays, the tension between formal legal frameworks and the nuanced realities of interpersonal relations, and difficulties in balancing the goals of individual culpability and institutional change. The study highlights how traditional epistemologies and legalistic approaches often fail to accommodate the situated, affective, and relational dimensions of knowledge and experience involved in harassment cases, complicating efforts to create reparative institutional practices. It also discusses the emotional and ethical challenges encountered by both complainants and the accused within a small, interconnected academic community, emphasizing the need for more nuanced, context-sensitive approaches to addressing sexual harassment in academia.