Universities pay thousands in compensation to harassment victims

Universities in England and Wales have paid thousands of pounds in compensation to students after bungling sexual misconduct investigations.

These processes are too often marred by delays and poor communication, says the sector ombudsman, the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA), as it publishes details of 10 cases it has considered recently.

Across seven of the cases, the total compensation paid to students topped £15,000 – with this likely to represent a fraction of the sector-wide total, since students can only bring cases to the OIA once they have exhausted their institution’s own grievance process.

The OIA says that it receives a “small but growing” number of complaints relating to harassment and sexual misconduct every year, including from victims, who are typically female, and alleged perpetrators, who are mostly male.

While providers are “making progress” in providing students with clear routes to report unwelcome behaviour, students “do not always receive clear outcomes to complaints they have made, especially when complaints about members of staff are addressed within employee disciplinary processes”, and institutions’ decision-makers “may not always be clear about the limits of their role, or understand how to test and weigh up evidence in a way which recognises the need to support all parties involved”, the OIA says.

While acknowledging that such cases are complex and it can be challenging to conduct an investigation in which all parties feel heard and supported, the case summaries “show how a student’s distress can be increased by processes that are not seen to be fair, or when reasons for decisions are not clearly explained”, says the ombudsman.

The cases detailed by the OIA include:

• A university that was found to have not properly considered the impact of a staff member allegedly touching a PhD student without consent at a Christmas party, to have offered her a remedy, or to have done enough to limit contact between the pair, after an investigation marked by “significant delays”. It was told to offer £4,000 in compensation
• A university that failed to consider a precautionary suspension of a student accused of sexual assault until a formal or police complaint was made, which was told to pay £2,000 compensation on top of £500 already offered to the victim
• A university that did not give a student a more detailed outcome of disciplinary proceedings after she complained that she had received sexually inappropriate text messages from a member of staff, which was told to pay £750 compensation in addition to £1,000 previously offered
• A university that conducted an investigation into an alleged sexual assault marked by “delays and several other shortcomings in communication” with the victim, which was told to pay £5,000 compensation.

The case summaries, published on 13 February, emerge as the English regulator, the Office for Students, prepares to introduce new conditions of registration requiring universities to make “significant and credible difference” to protect students from any abuses of power and sexual harassment, which could include introducing bans on staff-student relationships.

The OIA said it would prepare a new section of its “good practice framework”, gathering principles that providers can follow to help them design fair and supportive complaints processes.

Helen Megarry, the OIA’s independent adjudicator, said: “Every student has the right to study in a safe and supportive environment, free from harassment and sexual misconduct. Sadly, a number of students each year experience incidents of harassment, abuse and assault that can have profound and lasting effects.

“It is vital that higher education providers operate fair processes that are easy for students to access and understand. By encouraging students to bring forward their experiences, and being transparent about the actions they will take to address these reports, providers can bring about a cultural change that establishes a shared understanding of behaviours that are not tolerated within their communities.”

chris.havergal@timeshighereducation.com