Prevent and address harassment and sexual misconduct

The requirements to prevent and address harassment and sexual misconduct cover all higher education students at universities and colleges registered with the OfS.

That means students on all courses, at all levels, whether they are research programmes, apprenticeships, or short courses, delivered face-to-face, remotely or both.

The requirements cover all the students who are registered with a provider, taught by a provider, or studying for an award provided by a registered provider.

This includes:

• international partnerships and subcontractual arrangements
• UK-based and non-UK-based students
• courses delivered through partnership arrangements within the UK and internationally.

This might mean more than one provider is responsible for protecting some groups of students.

For providers in partnership arrangements, we encourage lead and delivery partners to collaborate, where appropriate and beneficial to do so. Some examples of areas providers may consider collaborating on include:

• staff and student training
• student support
• investigations
• prevention.

Definitions in transnational education (TNE) contexts

Where we draw from definitions from UK law, such as the Equality Act 2010 or the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, we are not suggesting an extension of the scope of that legislation itself.

Rather, we expect that a provider’s policies and activities should reflect these definitions as they support clarity and consistency.

The country in which a provider operates may have its own requirements. Providers should check whether they need to update their policy or use additional wording to meet another country’s requirements.