Treatment of students in sex assault cases varies over UK

STUDENTS accused of sexual misconduct are being treated differently depending on where they are at university, new research has revealed.

A survey of Britain’s leading Russell Group universities – including Oxford and Cambridge – found little consistency in the way rape and other serious allegations were dealt with.

While some colleges instruct independent investigators to carry out detailed reviews, others leave it up to their own staff to adjudicate on the matter. Complainants at some establishments are allowed legal representation, while others elsewhere are not.

No one policy is the same among the 24 institutions, and researchers have warned that at some universities, determining the veracity of a rape allegation is “no different from that of stealing a library book”.

In recent years, the number of sexassault allegations on campuses has risen dramatically and in 2016 universities were advised to start carrying out their own investigations regardless of the outcome of any criminal inquiry.

There are now demands for a standard, sector-wide university disciplinary policy for dealing with serious sex assault allegations among students.

Universities UK said: “Universities take these matters extremely seriously and are committed to becoming safer places to live, work and study so that no student or member of staff is subject to any form of sexual violence or misconduct. UUK and partners Against Violence and Abuse and the NUS have published a toolkit for senior leaders of good practice and practical steps to tackle sexual misconduct.

“However, while progress has been made, we know that there is much more to do to end all forms of harassment in higher education.”

A Russell Group spokesman said: “No student should feel unsafe or have to tolerate harassment or sexual misconduct and where a crime has been committed, we recommend it is reported to the police. Our members are working with Universities UK to address this issue at a sector-wide level.”