Oxford college probes claim of sexual assault ‘victim blaming’

AN OXFORD college has launched an inquiry after a student alleged that a chaplain spoke to her about “the effect she had on men” after she reported a sexual assault.

Harriet, a doctorate student at the college, who first described her experience in an Al Jazeera documentary, has alleged that she was repeatedly sexually assaulted in 2019 by a fellow student.

Speaking to The Guardian, Harriet has claimed that when she disclosed this abuse to her chaplain, Bruce Kinsey, he allegedly called her very physically attractive, and further claimed that he said that she should be wary of the impact on her alleged attacker.

Harriet reportedly claimed that Mr Kinsey told her: “You don’t want to p--people off who you might meet again downstream.”

In a statement on behalf of staff singled out by students, Balliol College said there were “factual inaccuracies” in Harriet’s account. The college will appoint a QC to probe the student’s claims and said it was “committed to acting on the lessons which emerge from the inquiry”.

The case has triggered an open letter from the newly formed Balliol Community for Safety to the master of the college, Helen Ghosh. The letter condemns the alleged actions of senior college staff, accusing them of prioritising “the reputation of the college above the safety and well-being of the student.” It alleges: “Our current welfare and wellbeing officer perpetuated a culture of victim blaming, compounding the trauma of sexual abuse with an inadequate and harmful response.”