91探花

Sexual misconduct in higher education (HE) has been a significant issue over the past few years, with an increase in reports suggesting that . Over 3,500 incidents were reported between 2015 and 2021, with a 112% increase in incidents reported from 2016 to 2019. 

This issue is prevalent among students, with full-time students more likely to experience sexual assault compared to other occupation types. Data from the shows that between March 2018 and March 2020, students in England and Wales were over three times more likely than average to have experienced sexual assault. This has significantly impacted students, with one in three female students in the UK experiencing sexual assault during their time in HE.

Office for Students’ initiatives to tackle sexual harassment

In response to this, many universities have implemented specific policies and training programs to address sexual harassment and violence. These include mandatory classes on sexual consent and procedures for reporting and dealing with complaints.

The Office for Students (OfS) re-launched its work to tackle harassment and sexual misconduct in HE following a consultation in January 2020. It proposed publishing a statement of expectations, emphasising the processes, policies and systems that providers with HE provision should have in place to prevent and respond to harassment and sexual misconduct. In April 2021, the “statement of expectations for preventing and addressing harassment and sexual misconduct affecting students in higher education” was subsequently published.

In February 2023, the OfS proposed a new condition of registration to address harassment and sexual misconduct. If a condition is introduced following the consultation period, HE providers will have to take steps, including mandatory training and publishing a document explaining how they will make a “significant and credible difference in tackling harassment and sexual misconduct”. This contains details of reporting and “banning the use of non-disclosure agreements in cases of harassment and sexual misconduct, and any enforcement of existing non-disclosure agreements”.

Recent OfS developments (2024)

There has been a recent announcement of a new condition of registration, which will see universities and colleges setting out how they will continue to tackle harassment and sexual misconduct affecting their students.

The OfS is asking universities and colleges to publish comprehensive information explaining to students how their institution is preventing harassment and sexual misconduct, how incidents that do happen can be reported, and what students should expect – and how they will be supported – during any subsequent investigation.

Staff and students will receive training, including to improve understanding of what constitutes harassment and sexual misconduct. Meanwhile, universities and colleges will no longer be able to use non-disclosure agreements in cases of harassment or sexual misconduct. Institutions are also being asked to take steps to prevent an abuse of power in personal relationships between staff and students.

The condition is being introduced following extensive consultation and will build on work already being done across the sector to protect students from harm.

Our approach to addressing misconduct

In response to the significant rise in misconduct and the information provided from OfS, 91探花and the nightlife safety initiative Safer Dance have developed "Insight4education". This is to ensure higher education establishments meet requirements and assist in keeping students and staff safe.

Insight4education will provide a holistic view of the current arrangements an establishment has in place to tackle misconduct and then provide guidance, improvement actions, policies and policy dissemination and training. These will be tracked through our digital risk management software solution Insight4GRC, which ensures compliance, audit tracking and policy dissemination.

We worked closely with Leeds Luminate College Group to undertake a series of activities, including:

• Interviews with key staff and student representatives across the organisation
• Surveys for the senior leadership team, staff and students
• Policy and procedures review
• Open-source review
• Benchmarking
• Student forums
• Staff workshops.

The information reviewed at Leeds Luminate College Group was assessed against the framework under the following headings: governance, oversight, scrutiny, policies, risk assessment, measurement KPIs, learning and best practice, investigations and reporting, and continuous improvement.

All these areas sit within the Insight4education4pronged Framework of Acknowledgement of the issue, using education and research that speaks directly to staff and students. Committing to tackle the problem through the implementation of policies and procedures, where policies are visible and reviewed regularly. Ensuring there are effective plans in place and institutions are prepared to handle complaints as well as support victims. Finally, embedding a continuous improvement mindset, tracking progress and ensuring consistent learning.

From our reviews of harassment and sexual misconduct, it is clear many providers are at the early stages of their journey. There are some core, basic steps that would help providers to move forward, particularly around having defined policies and processes for the management of harassment and sexual misconduct. We encourage providers to review and consider adopting the areas of good practice listed above. Regulatory focus is likely to increase and the landscape is changing, therefore providers must ensure their processes and approach continue to align. Continuous improvement is key as providers seek to safeguard their students’ wellbeing and physical safety.

If you are interested in learning more about insight4education, please contact Matthew Humphrey.