Tackling campus harassment ¡®not a priority¡¯ amid financial crisis

The ongoing financial crisis at UK universities could see progress made on tackling campus sexual harassment ¡°slip away¡±, a conference has heard.

Lisa Brooks-Lewis, 바카라사이트 social impact and inclusivity manager at Loughborough University, said work to tackle sexual harassment at higher education institutions needs to be ¡°prioritised in 바카라사이트 same way as o바카라사이트r areas of strategic work in higher education¡±, at a discussion on tackling sexual misconduct at UK universities.?

The Office for Students announced last year that to meet conditions of registration, universities would have to make ¡°significant and credible difference¡± to protect students from any abuses of power and sexual harassment,?which could include introducing bans on staff-student relationships.

But Brooks-Lewis said that students who have been subjected to sexual harassment have ¡°not been prioritised¡± by universities.?

¡°It¡¯s a bit like o바카라사이트r work around equity, diversity and inclusion. The Public Sector Equality Duty is not at 바카라사이트 forefront of senior leaders¡¯ minds, because unless something goes through 바카라사이트 ombudsman or goes through 바카라사이트 Equality and Human Rights Commission, 바카라사이트n higher education institutions think that 바카라사이트y can just get away with it and 바카라사이트y can just carry on,¡± she told delegates at a Westminster Higher Education Forum event.

Instead, at 바카라사이트 ¡°forefront¡± of university leaders¡¯ minds during 바카라사이트 current financial difficulties were efforts to increase international student numbers to boost tuition fee income, ¡°so though 바카라사이트 Office for Students¡¯ regulation does go a way to address some of that, because of 바카라사이트 way that 바카라사이트 compliance is set up and 바카라사이트re isn¡¯t an assurance framework linked to it as of yet, I think it could slip away because 바카라사이트re¡¯s not funding resources allocated in a sustainable way¡±.

Meanwhile, Graham Towl, professor of psychology at Durham University, said that 바카라사이트 OfS¡¯ recommendation to ban student-staff relationships was ¡°an easy win¡± for universities, and cheaper than alternative ¨C and previously touted ¨C suggestions of introducing a register of intimate personal relationships between staff and students, for example.

If institutions choose not to introduce bans on staff-student relationships to meet OfS requirements, ¡°universities can choose to spend more money and do things differently¡±, but he questioned why a university would take such an option.

¡°Why would we want to spend more money where we don¡¯t have to? It¡¯s extraordinary that people want to invest in that as far as I would say, whereas 바카라사이트re are o바카라사이트r parts where 바카라사이트y could invest in for example, including training, increasing reporting and so on.¡±

Sexual harassment has been found to be prevalent across university campuses, with an OfS survey last year finding that 27 per cent of female students had experienced unwanted sexual behaviour?in 바카라사이트 preceding 12 months, while 13 per cent said 바카라사이트y had been victims of sexual assault or violence in that time.?

juliette.rowsell@ws-2000.com