Prevent and address harassment and sexual misconduct

The ‘Statement of expectations for preventing and addressing harassment and sexual misconduct affecting students in higher education’ was published in April 2021. It provides a set of consistent recommendations to support higher education providers in England to develop and implement effective systems, policies and processes to prevent and respond to incidents of harassment and sexual misconduct.

Underpinning this framework is the principle that all higher education students registered at a provider, however and wherever they may be studying, should be protected from harassment and sexual misconduct from other students, staff and visitors.

Evaluating the statement of expectations

We appointed SUMS Consulting to evaluate the impact of the publication of the statement of expectations.

This included understanding if, and how, the statement has driven changes in:

• provider behaviour
• the underlying issue of harassment and sexual misconduct
• student experiences and outcomes related to the prevention of and response to harassment and sexual misconduct.

SUMS Consulting have produced the following evaluation reports:

• Evaluation of statement of expectations: Final report (November 2022)
  This page also includes key findings from an analysis of an online survey of higher education providers, and a copy of the questions asked.
• Evaluation of statement of expectations: June 2022 update (June 2022)

Following on from the evaluation, we recently consulted on a new approach to regulating harassment and sexual misconduct in English higher education.