McAllister Olivairus and The 1752 Group launch new guidelines for sexual misconduct in higher education

New sector guidance launched to address staff sexual misconduct in higher education

By The 1752 Group & McAllister Olivarius

This guidance is the response to our findings that institutional responses to complaints of staff sexual misconduct too often involve ‘making it up as you go along’.

When students report their experiences, they find that there is no documented process being followed or communicated with them, and that they don’t receive the same protections as the responding staff member. They are not given the full outcome, including any disciplinary measures relating to the staff member, and not given a right of appeal.

This sector guidance puts forward two key principles: 1) Where staff disciplinary procedures are used to address student complaints, higher education institutions (HEIs) must modify these to ensure a fair process for student complainants; and 2) Student complainants and responding staff members must be accorded equal rights in the complaints process.

We hope you read and share our ‘Sector Guidance to Address Staff Sexual Misconduct in UK Higher Education’ as one part of a wider set of institution-wide actions that need to be taken as a response to sexual violence.

Access your digital copy of the guidance here.

For more information visit: https://1752group.com/sector-guidance/