New OfS condition to address harassment and sexual misconduct

Today’s announcement of a new condition of registration will see universities and colleges setting out how they will continue to tackle harassment and sexual misconduct that affects their students.

The OfS is asking universities and colleges to publish comprehensive information to explain 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. 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.

Today’s announcement is published alongside data from a pilot survey which aimed to better understand the extent of sexual misconduct in the higher education sector in England and to learn more about the context in which incidents occur. The findings from the pilot survey have informed the decisions the OfS has taken on these issues.

Key findings of the survey include:

• Women were more than twice as likely to experience sexual harassment than men (27 per cent compared to 12 per cent), and over three times more likely to experience sexual assault or violence than men (13 per cent compared to four per cent).
• Twelve per cent of students who experienced sexual harassment in the last year made a formal report to their university. Of those who did make a report: 32 percent said their experience of reporting was good and 43 per cent said it was poor.
• Ninety per cent of students who experienced sexual assault or violence in the last year did not report the incident to the police.

Commenting, Susan Lapworth, chief executive at the OfS, said:

'Students have told us clearly that they want to see more active regulation to tackle harassment and sexual misconduct in higher education. We’ve heard them, and our new regulation will help ensure they are better protected and better able to succeed on their courses.

'Universities and colleges are increasingly alive to these issues and the serious impact they can have on students, particularly women. Some institutions already ban inappropriate relationships between staff and students – and we expect many more will now follow.

'Our new condition of registration builds on work by Universities UK and individual universities and provides impetus for further improvement in practice right across the sector. The evidence from our survey will give institutions better evidence as they continue this important work.

'More regulation is rarely popular with those subject to it. But we are clear that the action we’re taking today is targeted on an important issue that matters very much to students. We are pleased to be able to regulate in their interests.'

Notes

1. 95 per cent of students or student representative bodies who responded to our consultation supported the proposal that we introduce a new condition of registration to tackle harassment and sexual misconduct in higher education.
2. Data from the 2022 Crime Survey for England and Wales showed that full-time students were more likely to have experienced sexual assault in the past year than any other occupational group.
3. Between 2017 and 2020, the OfS provided £4.7 million for 119 projects across the higher education sector to support the development of effective practice to address sexual violence, hate crime, online harassment and harassment based on religion or belief affecting students. An evaluation of that funding programme found that progress had been made but further improvement was needed in tackling these issues for students.
4. In April 2021 the OfS published a statement of expectations to provide a clear framework for universities and colleges for preventing and responding to incidents of harassment and sexual misconduct that affect their students. An evaluation of the statement’s impact found that progress had been made by institutions to review and update their processes to tackle these issues. However, the evaluation found that progress was slow and inconsistent, and set recommendations for the OfS and the sector to continue to address these issues.