Preventing and Addressing Harassment and Sexual Misconduct
We are firmly committed to creating and maintaining a safe, inclusive and respectful environment across all our centres. Our approach prioritises the prevention of harassment and sexual misconduct, alongside providing clear and accessible support for those who experience it.
This webpage summarises CEG’s policies and procedures on student harassment and sexual misconduct, and the support available. It is the 'single comprehensive source of information' required by the Office for Students (OfS registration condition E6). It brings together relevant policies, procedures, support services, reporting mechanisms and preventative initiatives in one place, to ensure clarity and ease of access for all students, staff and visitors.
Harassment is defined as any unwanted behaviour or conduct which has the purpose or effect of violating a person’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment because of, or connected to, one or more of the following protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.
Sexual misconduct is a form of harassment. It is defined as any unwanted conduct of a sexual nature which occurred in person or by any other means including but not limited to; letter, e-mail, text message, instant messaging, social media, websites, chat rooms or online forums. It can include sexual harassment; sexual violence; intimate partner violence; sexual assault; grooming; coercion or bullying with sexual elements; sexual invitations and demands; comments; non-verbal communication; creation of atmospheres of discomfort; and promised resources or advancement in exchange for sexual access. Sexual misconduct specifically raises issues of unequal relationships, consent, and the prevention of equal access to education, opportunities and career progression.
A full definition of harassment and sexual misconduct can be found in the Student Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Policy
CEG is committed to creating and ensuring an inclusive, positive and safe environment for all, in which all members of our community are equally valued and respected.
We take the safety, wellbeing and dignity of our students and staff very seriously and will not tolerate any form of inappropriate or harmful behaviour. We strive to create an environment where all members of the CEG community feel safe and respected.
We encourage students to come forward with concerns so that they can be dealt with impartially, promptly, and sensitively.
Students are encouraged to report any form of harassment or sexual misconduct in the following ways:
- To tell someone in person. This could be a member of their OnCampus centre Student Services team.
- To complete a paper-based copy of the ‘Report a Concern’ form
- To report the issue through the website ‘Report a Concern’ form
Students can also seek support and advice from their centre and central OnCampus Student Services teams who include trained Sexual Violence Liaison Officers.
If students have experienced or witnessed any form of bullying, harassment, discrimination, gender-based violence, hate or micro-aggressions, or have a safeguarding concern, they can also report it anonymously using the ‘Report a Concern’ form.
If someone is in immediate danger, call 999 (UK) or 112 (Europe).
Students will be supported and helped to understand the process.
- If a student informs a member of their centre Student Services team, they will get in touch with the student.
- If the student completes the online ‘Report a Concern’ form, this will be logged to our central Student Services team who will review and decide on the best course of action.
The OnCampus teams will respect the decision of a student and support them, whatever they decide to do next in terms of reporting any form of harassment or sexual misconduct.
We are committed to providing effective, timely and targeted support for all members of our community affected by sexual misconduct. This will include support for their wellbeing and to enable them to participate fairly in the process. The support will be non-judgmental and tailored to the individual.
Internal support is provided by the centre Student Services team in the first instance. This team will help students to access relevant internal and external specialist support as appropriate. This may include:
- ·a referral to counselling or mental health support on campus
- a referral to specialist support in the local area, for example the Sexual Assault Referral Centre
- ·a referral to a national organisation.
Students will also be offered support to address any impact on their academic studies, including support in applying for Extenuating Circumstances if applicable.
Investigations into allegations of harassment and sexual misconduct are carried out in accordance with the Student Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Policy
Investigations into allegations of harassment and sexual misconduct concerning a member of CEG staff are carried out in accordance with the staff CEG Disciplinary Policy.
We are committed to ensuring confidentiality for those disclosing incidents of harassment and sexual misconduct. Please refer to the CEG Privacy Policy and the Report A Concern Privacy Notice for more information.
While every effort is made to protect the confidentiality of those disclosing harassment and sexual misconduct, there may be circumstances where it is necessary to share information with other agencies or the appropriate partner university. Further details can be found in the Student Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Policy.
In accordance with the Student Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Policy:
1. We will provide the student who has raised an allegation with an outcome of the investigation and/or explanation of the actions taken where it is reasonable and practical to do so. If possible, this will take place in person and will include any measures to support them from an academic and wellbeing perspective or to alleviate concerns about their safety on campus. We will not normally disclose the details of any sanctions imposed as a result of disciplinary action, as these are personal to the person against whom the allegation was made. However, information about a sanction may be shared where it directly affects the person who made the allegation and their feelings of safety on campus. They will also receive an outcome letter.
2. The person against whom the allegation has been made will receive an outcome including whether the alleged behaviour has been proven on the balance of probabilities, the reasons for the decision and, where relevant, any sanction which has been imposed a result of any disciplinary process. The outcome letter will set out their right of appeal in line with the Student Disciplinary Policy. In the case of a staff member, the Staff Disciplinary Policy will be followed.
Educational activities for students include personal tutorials, so they understand what sexual misconduct is and that it is not tolerated, what consent is and when it is and isn’t given, and how to safely challenge unacceptable behaviour by being an active bystander
We understand individuals may engage with these topics in different ways. For some, engaging with certain content may be emotionally challenging. We have built in the ability for students to step back from these modules if needed. We encourage students to take the steps they feel are right for them and are committed to supporting their wellbeing throughout.
Across the year, awareness-raising communications and events take place, for example actions to challenge any unconscious bias or unhelpful myths around sexual misconduct.
Staff receive appropriate training so that that all relevant staff are aware of the Student Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Policy, know how to respond appropriately where a student shares their experience of sexual misconduct and can signpost them to support. Face to face centre training sessions are delivered on a termly basis.
In addition, all staff are required to the mandatory online Safeguarding at CEG, including child protection and adults at risk of harm.
Specialist staff are subject to continuous professional training:
- Staff involved in specialist roles (such as centre Student Services Teams, Designated Safeguarding Leads, Sexual Violence Liaison Officers and staff carrying out investigations) receive specialist training appropriate and relevant to their roles.
- During the academic year, our central safeguarding team run campaigns to promote awareness, including awareness sessions for staff, and will deliver bespoke training to staff on request.
We include feedback surveys in our training for students and staff, evaluating the results and making changes to the training where appropriate.
We are committed to protecting students from any actual or potential conflict of interest and/or abuse of power that may arise from intimate personal relationships with staff. The CEG Safeguarding Policy bans personal relationships between staff and students.
We are committed to taking steps that will make a significant and credible difference to protecting students from harassment and sexual misconduct. These include:
- Training programmes for students and staff.
- Building feedback surveys into our online training for students and staff, evaluating the results and making changes to the training where appropriate.
- Providing a safe space for students to reach out for practical guidance and emotional support from our centre Student Services team and central safeguarding team, who have received training from specialist external providers, including accredited Sexual Violence Liaison Officer (SVLO) training.
- Consulting with the OnCampus Student Representative Forums on changes to our student policies on harassment and sexual misconduct.
- Engagement with local partners and external agencies to ensure we have an effective approach to preventing and responding to all forms of harassment and sexual misconduct.
- Analysing and publishing data on use of our Report a Concern portal.
CEG does not use non-disclosure agreements or confidentiality clauses to prevent reporting persons from speaking out in cases of harassment and sexual misconduct. It is important that all our students and staff feel safe and supported and the use of such clauses would be considered to be wholly unacceptable.