Please find below UHE UK’s Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Guidance.
What is Harassment and Sexual Misconduct?
UHE (UK)’s Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Policy defines harassment and sexual misconduct as:
“Harassment” is unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic which has the purpose or effect of violating an individual’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment as defined by the Equality Act 2010. This includes harassment by association or perception.
“Sexual Misconduct” relates to all unwanted conduct of a sexual nature. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Sexual harassment as defined by Section 26(2) Equality Act 2010.
- Assault as defined by the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
- Rape as defined by the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
- Physical unwanted sexual advances as set out by the Equality and Human Rights Commission: Sexual harassment and the law, 2017.
- Intimidation or promising resources or benefits in return for sexual favours as set out by the Equality and Human Rights Commission: Sexual harassment and the law, 2017.
- Distributing private and personal explicit images or video footage of an individual without their consent as defined by the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015.
Reporting harassment and sexual misconduct
UHE (UK) has a support and wellbeing team, which students can access to disclose bullying, discrimination, harassment, hate crime and sexual misconduct.
You can speak to a trained advisor to get information on reporting options and support available so that you can make an informed decision on what happens next.
The UHE (UK) Student Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Policy details the options and contact details of support services, for both students and staff if they wish to disclose concerns.
Support for anyone affected by harassment and sexual misconduct
Both students and staff can disclose how they have been affected by harassment and sexual misconduct.
Staff can do this by reporting this to their manager or the HR team as per the Anti-Harassment policy (or where inappropriate to report informally, report in line with the Company Grievance Policy to the business unit head of director.
Students can do this using any of the support and contact options listed in the UHE (UK) Student Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Policy.
Students disclosing any information to a UHE (UK) support and wellbeing advisor will be able to talk through the reporting options and discuss what support is available, in confidence.
A range of support is available both within and outside of each college, for students and staff who have experienced harassment and sexual misconduct.
What support is available if I have experienced harassment, sexual misconduct or bullying?
Students and staff members can seek support from UHE (UK) as detailed within the Student Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Policy.
There are also links for a range of external organisations who have information and advice.
Students facing allegations
As indicated in the Student Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Policy, students facing allegations will be provided with a named staff member who they can contact for support. Support is also available from the UHE (UK) student support team.
Investigating Harassment and Sexual Misconduct
Information on investigations into allegations of student harassment and sexual misconduct can be found within the following policies and procedures:
The Student Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Policy defines what harassment and sexual misconduct are and sets out our approach to preventing and addressing harassment and sexual misconduct.
In terms of how incidents are investigated, the Student Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Policy details the relevant procedure that will be followed where allegations of harassment and sexual misconduct are made against students, specific to the location of study.
The OIEG Staff Disciplinary Policy and Procedure outlines the process used to investigate allegations of harassment and sexual misconduct made by students against staff.
Both the student and staff policies set out how allegations will be investigated fairly, including timescales, stages, penalties and appeal provisions.
Handling Information
UHE (UK) will take all reasonable steps to ensure confidentiality, creating a culture where anyone affected feels safe to make a disclosure about harassment and sexual misconduct.
There may be circumstances (e.g. in order to protect an individual at risk) where we are required to share information with other agencies or to share information internally. Further details about confidentiality and information sharing are provided in the Student Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Policy.
Informing Individuals
Where it is reasonable and practicable to do so, in accordance with its duties and obligations under data protection legislation, UHE (UK) will provide the student that has raised an allegation of harassment or sexual misconduct with an outcome of the investigation and/or an explanation of any actions that has been taken, including where an outcome is changed. Students should be aware that it may only be possible to provide limited information, depending on the circumstances.
Where the student attends a college with a partner university, additional protocols may be in place for the handling and communication of information. All linked policies and procedures can be found in the Student Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Policy.
Training for Students
We are committed in ensuring that students understand what harassment and sexual misconduct is, how they can report it, what support is available to them, what consent is and how to intervene effectively.
All students are required to complete a mandatory induction, to promote awareness of harassment and sexual misconduct. The course discusses definitions of harassment and sexual misconduct, sexual consent, how to become an active bystander against sexual violence and harassment and how to disclose incidents and concerns. We hope that this will support students in feeling more confident in making a stand against sexual harassment and understanding what does and doesn’t count as consent. We also provide information on the law around sexual offences in the UK and information about sources of support.
Training for Staff
All OIEG staff complete mandatory training on Safeguarding and Sexual Harassment. Further enhanced staff training takes place for all staff with reporting responsibilities. This training ensures that all staff understand how to protect both students and themselves, as well as support with disclosures of incidents where applicable.
Personal Relationships Between Staff and Students
UHE (UK) are committed to protecting students from any actual or potential conflict of interest and/or abuse of power that may arise from intimate personal relationships with staff. Our Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy bans personal relationships between staff and students.
How We Aim to Protect Students
We are committed to making a difference, aiming to protect students from harassment and sexual misconduct. This includes:
- Analysing and publishing data on student disclosures within UHE (UK).
- Using feedback surveys following training for students and staff, evaluating the results and making changes to the training where appropriate.
- Consulting with student representative groups about our student policies on harassment and sexual misconduct.
- Providing training for both students and staff to inform them on topics of consent and how to be an active bystander, as well as informing students and staff about the law on harassment and sexual misconduct.
Non-Disclosure Agreements
UHE (UK) is committed to not using non-disclosure clauses or agreements to silence individuals who raise complaints in the areas covered by this policy. In matters which are raised under this policy, or subject to any process under this policy, UHE(UK) will not use non-disclosure clauses which compromise a person’s right to make public interest disclosures either to UHE(UK) or directly to the prescribed third parties nominated by government on matters falling within the scope of this policy.