Today, Universities UK (UUK), in collaboration with Coventry
University and Pinsent Masons, has published updated guidance on
tackling harassment and sexual misconduct on university campuses.
The publication is an update to guidance first issued in 2016 on
handling alleged student
misconduct. It makes clear that while universities cannot
make decisions about whether a criminal offence has been
committed, they can make decisions where there has been a breach
of their own code of conduct. The updated guidance sets out a
framework and case studies to guide institutions in handling
these investigations.
It is part of UUK’s ‘Changing the Culture’ work - initially set
up to examine violence against women, harassment and hate crime
affecting students, making recommendations and providing guidance
for higher education providers to follow.
The author of today’s report, Nicola Bradfield, Associate
Pro Vice-Chancellor, Coventry University, said:
“The sector understands the importance of handling serious
student misconduct cases fairly and effectively. However,
cases can be incredibly complex with each one requiring
consideration of unique circumstances, a need to balance the
interests of the students involved and, often, the navigation of
an external criminal investigation.
In response to requests for further guidance, we have prepared
this Supplemental Note to the 2016 UUK-Pinsent Masons Guidance,
focussing on areas which can be challenging and providing
practical case studies. While each case is different, we
hope it will assist universities with the continued development
of their processes and to address issues that may arise with
greater confidence.”
More widely, increased reporting and data in the sector is
rightly drawing attention to the scale of harassment and sexual
misconduct. In late 2022, the Office for Students (OfS) published
survey results from 68 providers. It found 57% of respondents saw
an increase in reports between 2020-22. The rise in reported
incidents is a serious concern, but also indicates that students
have greater confidence in reporting such incidents.
The OfS also found that universities had made significant
progress in adopting the recommendations of UUK’s 2016 guidance.
In total, the survey found that 98% of UUK’s members have now
introduced a process where students have the option to report in
person any incidences of harassment or sexual misconduct. All UUK
members surveyed said they provide clear information to students
on how to report incidents, further highlighting the
commitment of universities to tackle these issues head on. The
report also found that leadership responsibility for tackling
harassment and sexual misconduct had shifted to more senior roles
at UUK member universities.
Professor Dame Sally Mapstone DBE, FRSE, President of
Universities UK and Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the
University of St Andrews said:
“Any form of harassment against students or staff is completely
unacceptable on campus, as in any walk of life, and goes against
the standards of behaviour expected across the university
community. A key focus for universities is building a community
which prevents these incidents from emerging in the first place.
“Much work has been done in this space, but we
are clear that the sector needs to go further to build on the
progress to date. This latest publication will
be a further source of support for universities to improve their
processes and help to implement much needed change.”
END
Notes to editors:
- The full guidance can be accessed here from
00.01 27 March 2024. A PDF of the guidance is attached for use
before these pages go live.
- Since the publication of Changing the Culture, UUK has
produced a number of additional reports and guidance on tackling
different forms of harassment, including:
- Tackling staff-to-student sexual misconduct
- Tackling racial harassment
- Tackling antisemitism
- Tackling Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred
- Online harassment
- Combat Misconduct project with AVA
All reports can be viewed here: Changing the culture: our
work on tackling harassment (universitiesuk.ac.uk)
