ÌÇÐÄVlog

Students¡¯ reluctance to formally report sexual harassment reflects ¡°patchy¡± university processes that are likely to be further impeded by the funding crisis, experts have said after a major survey identified the extent of the problem for the first time.

Women in particular appear to be being let down by how institutions deal with incidents, the Office for Students (OfS) found in its?first of its kind study?published last week.

Only 13 per cent of students who experienced harassment reported it and, of these, almost half (42 per cent) of women said they had a negative experience. In contrast, three-quarters of men who reported incidents said they had had a positive experience.

Bridget Steele, a lecturer in evidence-based intervention and policy evaluation at the University of Oxford, told?ÌÇÐÄVlog?that the results show ¡°the extent to how gendered this problem is in the sector¡± and the wider barriers women can face following their harassment.

She said the disparities may be because women are less likely to be believed, face a lack of ¡°evidence-based, trauma-formed responses¡±, and may face ¡°myths on sexual assault¡± that?place the blame on women for their harassment.

¡°Sometimes in the sector we say, ¡®we just need students to report more, we want students to report more, we want to encourage more¡¯, but I think we have to be really careful about that,¡± Steele said.

¡°Because if we encourage students to report, there has to be systems in place to be able to handle that report in a trauma-informed way, and in a way that¡¯s fair, balanced, and equitable. If we¡¯re seeing that around half of students, and more for women, are having a poor experience, how do we expect someone to report?¡±

The funding crisis ¡°plays a massive role¡± in students¡¯ experience of the reporting process, Steele added.

While ¡°there¡¯s not a lack of individual people at universities who care¡± and ¡°doing a really good job¡±, the problem is that ¡°there¡¯s not enough of those people and they¡¯re not well-resourced enough. That is partially a reflection of a funding crisis in this sector, but it could partially be a reflection of how much the university prioritises this issue.¡±

Anna Bull, co-founder of the 1752 Group, which campaigns against sexual violence in higher education, said the survey showed that ¡°unacceptable numbers¡± of students are facing sexual harassment, and that higher levels of incidents amongst women and lesbian, gay and bisexual people shows that ¡°higher education is not a safe or equal place as it stands¡±.

She said that for reporting parties, ¡°there¡¯s often nothing in it for them¡± to gain from the experience.

¡°We¡¯re seeing more and more universities having better practices around safety measures when people put in place a report, but there¡¯s still a way to go to make sure that reporting actually does lead to expert-led risk assessments,¡± said Bull, who is also a senior lecturer in education and social justice at the University of York.

Responses across universities are ¡°really patchy¡±,?despite new regulations coming into effect from the OfS,?which look to safeguard students, she added.

¡°This is competing with the financial crisis in higher education, and so there¡¯s a risk that with lots of professional services staff and staff being cut across higher education institutions everywhere, staffing in this area will also be cut, and that¡¯s going to impede universities¡¯ ability to actually take the measures they need to take to keep students safe after their report.¡±

Clarissa DiSantis, education and training lead for Active Consent at the University of Galway, said while the figures are ¡°not surprising, they remain shocking¡±.

¡°These figures continue to show that university leaders are failing to keep students safe in their communities. Hopefully, this is a stark reminder to university administrators of their need to invest in meaningful prevention and response measures that go beyond the bare minimum, but actually impact the culture of their campuses that perpetuate sexual violence,¡± DiSantis said.

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com