Statement in response to Al Jazeera podcast series on sexual harassment and abuse in UK universities

All students and staff in UK universities should be free to work and study safe from sexual harassment and abuse. We need to see significant, coordinated action from the sector to develop and enforce robust policies on sexual violence, so staff and students can have confidence that complaints will be treated seriously. This must include work to ensure that patterns of behaviour by perpetrators are identified, and to address the hierarchical power dynamics which often serve to embolden perpetrators.  

The stories explored in the podcast echo the thousands of reports from our members to UCU's member-led task group on sexual violence which was established in 2020 to inform the union's campaigning on this issue. The group will publish a detailed report and recommendations later this month and engage in other follow-up activities to ensure that UCU can provide the best possible reporting mechanisms, representation, legal support, and aftercare to survivors and put the struggle against sexual abuse at the heart of our workplace organising. 

The task group builds upon a range of existing resources to support branches and activists, including:  

• the 'Challenging Sexual Harassment' training course for reps - search here to see if there's a session coming up in your region or ask your regional office to organise one if not
• UCU's 'Challenging Sexual Harassment' CPD session, raising awareness of how to recognise and challenge sexual harassment. Suitable for all members, contact Rob Hancock (rhancock@ucu.org.uk) to organise a session for your branch
• this short guide to Dealing with Sexual Harassment in the workplace, which includes details of how branches can implement good practice in handling cases.
• UCU's Bullying and Harassment toolkit, which includes a range of resources for dealing with all types of harassment.   

You can also find details of a range of support services across the UK here [207kb].