Oxford University staff guilty of sexual misconduct towards students were allowed to keep working
Oxford University staff found guilty of sexual misconduct towards students have been allowed to keep their jobs, The Telegraph can disclose.
Five student complaints of staff sexual misconduct have been upheld in the past five years, but only one staff member was suspended and subsequently dismissed, according to the response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.
Three of the staff members received formal warnings. In one case, the employee was also mandated to undergo harassment training, while in another case, the staff member was barred from student contact.
Between 2017-18 and 2021-22, students made a total of 12 sexual misconduct complaints against staff members.
Three cases were not upheld, and three members of staff left the university before disciplinary procedures were completed, according to the FOI response. A further case is ongoing.
Students urged to express views
Students are calling for tougher sanctions against university employees who have sexual misconduct complaints upheld against them.
A spokesman for the Oxford Students’ Union said: “We are concerned to see Oxford staff accused of sexual misconduct and we hope to work with the university to make sure that more appropriate sanctions are taken in disciplinary cases such as these in the future.”
The student union is encouraging students to share their views on the issue and said they can submit the subject as a motion for discussion at the next student council.
Rosalie Chapman, the union's incoming welfare officer, said: “Staff found guilty of sexual misconduct should not be allowed to continue working at the university.”
The FOI response also found that 24 cases of sexual misconduct were reported by students against other students over the five years between 2017-18 and 2021-22.
Only two cases were upheld. In one of those instances, the student was required to undergo training. One case was not upheld. In the remaining cases no further action was taken, either because of “a lack of university context”, or because they were considered a police matter.
Ban staff-student relationships
The findings come as the Office for Students, the higher education regulator, launches a consultation on new regulations for universities to tackle harassment and sexual misconduct on campuses.
Plans include either forcing staff to disclose relationships with students, or banning staff-student relationships entirely.
Susan Lapworth, chief executive of the OfS said: “The majority of those working in higher education behave appropriately towards their students. But we recognise that there can be a power imbalance in personal relationships that could be exploited by unscrupulous staff to subject students to harassment or sexual misconduct.”
The regulator plans to impose new requirements on universities after it found efforts to work with the sector by allowing it to self-regulate on measures to tackle harassment and sexual misconduct had failed.
It found that some universities have not followed up incidents with formal reports, while others have either been too slow to take up the statement of expectations or have not sufficiently prioritised this issue. Only a handful of universities have banned relationships between staff and students, including the University of Nottingham and University College London.
Other proposals include “bystander” training for students so they know how to raise awareness of and prevent sexual misconduct if they are witnesses.
A spokesman for Oxford University said: “Oxford University is working hard to build a culture where our students can feel safe and where sexual violence and harassment are not tolerated. The university takes any allegation of sexual misconduct extremely seriously, but in line with the national picture, we are aware that incidents of sexual harassment and violence are under-reported at Oxford.
“The university also does not and will not use Non-Disclosure Agreements to prevent the investigation of complaints of sexual misconduct or other inappropriate behaviour, or to prevent responsible whistleblowing; and would like to reassure students that anyone bringing forward complaints of this nature will always be listened to and supported.”
A spokesman for Universities UK said: “Our members take tackling harassment and sexual misconduct extremely seriously and have been working hard to meet their obligations in this area. However, we recognise that there is still work to be done.
“We look forward to working with OfS so that these proposals will further strengthen universities’ own efforts to ensure student safety. It is crucial that any new obligations on universities are proportionate and work for the full range of institutions.”
