Prevention and response to harassment and sexual misconduct by universities is not consistently effective. OfS chief executive Susan Lapworth describes our toughened approach.
According to the Crime Survey for England and Wales, between 2018 and 2020, full-time students were more likely to have experienced sexual assault in the past year than any other occupational group.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s 2019 inquiry into racial harassment found that 24 per cent of ethnic minority students had experienced racial harassment at their place of study, and the Community Security Trust’s recent report found that there had been 150 antisemitic incidents in the higher education community over the last two academic years.
These alarming statistics signal a serious impact on the lives of real students. So, what has the Office for Students (OfS) been doing about harassment and sexual misconduct? A lot.
