Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)
Together Against Harassment
Our ambition is to be a truly inclusive university, free from harassment.
The challenges we face as a university in relation to tackling harassment, and the barriers experienced by our community, are not unique. As evidenced by sector reports, there are widespread concerns across higher education related to tackling harassment on campuses which include; low levels of awareness, trust, confidence and low disclosure, together with a lack of transparency, institutional accountability and inaction.
In 2022, the Office for Students published survey results from 68 institutions. It found 57% of respondents saw an increase in reports of sexual misconduct and harassment between 2020 and 2022. A report commissioned by the University’s Centre for Hate Studies in 2022 found that 227 students, from 565 surveys, reported having been subjected to some form of harassment during their time as a student at the University, leading to negative impact upon their attainment or performance as well as significant emotional impacts. The report found that the impact of harassment is wide-ranging. The Centre are continuing to lead on sector wide approaches to tackling harassment by undertaking the first study of its kinds to examine the full range of domestic and international students' experiences of harassment within higher education. The University will benefit from this study as one of the University’s that will be involved.
These pages aim to provide you with information that specifically relates to harassment. For more information about unacceptable behaviours more broadly, learn more about dignity and respect at Leicester, or contact equalities@le.ac.uk.
What we are doing to address harassment
Harassment is unacceptable. We are committed to eradicating harassment in all its forms, and in relation to the protected characteristics, including age, disability, sex, ethnicity, gender identity, faith and sexual orientation, and those who are targeted on the basis of multiple equality characteristics.
Our ‘Together Against Harassment’ project aims to tackle the challenges and barriers we face through a number of activities.
- We will increase confidence and trust that the University is tackling harassment, by improving transparency and accountability through sharing of information, such as the potential outcomes, sanctions and the number and nature of incidents of harassment.
- We will work with colleagues across the University to improve skills and knowledge to be able identify and address incidents of harassment and offer sources of support.
- We will challenge systemic barriers to tackling harassment by ensuring that there is pro-active leadership responsibility for a culture of anti-harassment. Our Vice-Chancellor is committed to tackling all form of harassment and has actively contributed to sector wide reports into harassment including the UK report on Tackling Racial Harassment in Higher Educations (2020).
- We will seek to increase awareness, to ensure that all in our community have the confidence, and necessary information and support, to make informed decisions to disclose incidents of harassment. Every member of our community will be empowered to be an active upstander, and to promote a culture of anti-harassment.
If you experience harassment, or other unacceptable behaviour, we want to hear about it. You can access support and disclose, anonymously if you prefer, at Report and Support.
Disclosing harassment and finding support
Students
As a University of Leicester student, if you feel that you’re being subjected to unacceptable behaviours, we encourage you to make a disclosure through our Report and Support online reporting system. You can do this anonymously or leave your contact details for us to get back to you.
Using Report and Support
You can use Report and Support to tell us something that's happened, and find out more about support available to you.
Use the Report and Support reporting system to do one of the following:
- disclose behaviours you’ve experienced and leave your contact details for us to get back to you
- tell us anonymously.
Setting up a meeting with you
If you leave contact details, wherever possible someone will contact you within two working days to offer a confidential meeting with a trained case worker.
They will then:
- provide a safe space for you to talk about what you've experienced
- talk to you about the support available to you, both within the University and externally
- help you to explore your options, including informal resolution and more formal reporting
- provide information about relevant University policies and processes.
If you do not wish to meet with anyone, we can signpost you to further sources of support.
During the meeting
You can request to meet in person or online/over the phone. When you meet with a case worker, they will talk you through their role, what support they can offer and explain the parameters of confidentiality to you.
The meeting will go at your pace and the case worker will only ask for key information that will help support you.
After the meeting
After the meeting, you can choose to leave it there and do nothing, or to progress with one or more of the options outlined in the meeting.
It is acknowledged that talking to someone about your experiences can be difficult. Where possible we will look to uphold confidentiality, however circumstances that involve risk do require escalation. Where possible we would always try to consult you on potential actions.
Staff
As a member of staff at the University of Leicester, if you feel you are being subjected to unacceptable behaviours, or see someone else being subjected to unacceptable behaviour, we encourage you to make a disclosure through our Report and Support online reporting system. You can do this anonymously or leave your contact details for us to get back to you.
Using Report and Support
You can use Report and Support (our online reporting system) to tell us something that's happened, so we can help you find out about support available.
Setting up a meeting with you
If you leave contact details, wherever possible someone will contact you within two working days to offer a confidential meeting with a trained Dignity and Respect contact. They will then:
- provide a safe space for you to talk about what you've experienced
- talk to you about the support available to you, both within the University and externally
- help you to explore your options, including informal resolution and more formal reporting
- provide information about relevant University policies and processes.
If you do not want to meet with anyone, we can signpost you to further sources of support.
Disclosing something that happened through Report and Support does not automatically lead to a formal report, or invoke a formal process.
After the meeting
After the meeting, you can choose whether to leave it there and do nothing further, or to progress with one or more of the options outlined in the meeting.
None of the information you disclose will be shared with anyone else, unless you give consent to do so, or there is a safeguarding risk or if a criminal act is involved. In these cases you would be consulted about potential actions.
Definition of harassment
What it means
Harassment is
"unwanted conduct, relating to a protected characteristic, which has the purpose or effect of violating a person’s dignity, or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment." (Equality Act 2010).
What it might look like
Harassment can be face to face, or online. Some examples might include racial harassment, sexual harassment, transphobia, harassment relating to a disability, homophobia, Islamophobia, antisemitism, and may look like:
- Jokes or demeaning, abusive comments targeting someone in relation to a protected characteristic;
- Verbal or written insults or ridicule, displaying or circulating offensive material;
- Unwelcome sexual advances, lewd comments.