Sexual Harassment and the National union of Students

The National Union of Students has released a study of sexual harassment on University campuses in the UK (see here, here and here). The National Union of Students does some very good things for students and it is good to see the issue getting attention. 

The UK is not alone in having issues of sexual harassment as well as a wide range of gender issues. I can’t speak for any of the universities I have worked in but I can say some things about dealing with the issue as an individual member of staff. Some of what I have seen in my years is heartbreaking: young people dealing with abusive family members, partners, other students, and staff. The results range from inspirational resilience to tragedy and everything in between. 

Once the abuse and harassment happens it can be very hard to deal with, but there is more University leaders can be doing to shape the university environment to prevent it. The most effective is education about appropriate behaviour, codes of behaviour, and what to do when harassment occurs. We should be able to do this. We are educators.

For students and others affected by sexual harassment, here are some thoughts, suggestions, and advice.

Nearly all of us want to help. We can and do help students when the need arises. Most of us have seen a lot in our careers and we truly care about our students. Don’t be embarrassed or ashamed because of what someone else has done to you. It is not your fault. Unfortunately, abusive and predatory people are often very good at manipulating people and making it everyone’s fault but their own. Please do not let them make you think you are to blame.

If you want action taken against someone for harassment or abuse, go to the police. Whatever we would like to be, academics are not Police Constables nor are we a good substitute.  Much as we want to help, the police are a law enforcement organisation, a university is not. 

Through the police, the UK has some helpful procedures to tackle harassment. A good overview of the law may be found here. One item to be aware of is the so-called PIN notice (there is some information about them here and in the PDF linked to at the bottom of the page). The latter are felt to be most effective for first offenses where the person may not have known the behaviour might be considered harassing. They do not assign guilt or innocence, but, should the behaviour continue, the perpetrator cannot easily say they were unaware there was a problem. 

Women’s aide has some excellent resources. These are directed toward women but would also be valuable for men being harassed as well. 

Individual academic staff members do not normally have investigative powers (at least I am unaware of any examples to the contrary) within the remit of university codes of conduct. In my current role, the best I can do is to make those in more senior management roles (Heads of Department, Deans, etc) in the University aware of a problem. I cannot nor can most of my academic colleagues carry out harassment investigations. Sometimes this can be delegated to us, but this is unusual in my experience.

Those in more senior roles are usually there for academic or managerial reasons rather than because they are well trained in sexual harassment investigations. Depending on their career history they may be completely unprepared to investigate until they are asked to do so. 

Despite the prevalence indicated in the NUS survey, the number of instances of sexual harassment complaints is comparatively small. While I was in my management role (which I held for about 2 years), to my knowledge, no student in my area initiated a sexual harassment complaint. Not one. Cheating and plagiarism dominate the offenses investigated in Universities. Other Code of Behaviour proceedings are rare in my experience.

The issues that make harassment difficult to deal with in the Courts make them difficult to deal with in Universities. The nature of harassment is that it is often carried out in ways that leave little proof. This would include groping, verbal abuse, and related behaviours. Predatory individuals seem to understand that isolation favours them. Unless there is a recording in a security camera or similar proof, it is very difficult to take action. Difficult as it is, documentation is the key. If you think a security camera might hold evidence, report the problem quickly. CCTV recordings are often purged after a time. The sooner you report the event, the more likely it is the data will exist and you will be clearer about the dates and times of the event.

Please speak up. Go to the police. Go to the Senior Academics (Heads of Department, Deans and their equivalents). If you need advice, rank and file academics can help you get started, but in order to deal with the problem you have to speak up and formalise complaints.

Finally, one of my first experiences of the effect of sexual harassment in academia (it was not in the UK) was a young woman telling me about a senior member of staff. Like many, she had some specific vulnerabilities. She indicated that she had to change supervisors because her first one kept making inappropriate comments about his sex life and it made her uncomfortable. I asked if she had complained. She said she had not because she did not think it would help. I suggested she write a letter to the staff member’s manager. She did not think it would help. I said that a single letter might not help, having one on file would help if further cases came to light, even if she herself did not want to proceed. She reiterated that she did not think it would help and that writing a letter could get into the wrong hands and leave her in a more vulnerable position. I suggested she write a letter to me which I would keep private but could indicate it existed if more cases came to light. She decided not to do this. I understand and respect her choice and admire her for changing supervisors despite her vulnerabilities, but it is tragic all the same.

So, thank you NUS. Please keep trying.