Combatting harassment and sexual misconduct

Sexual harassment is any form of unwanted verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, or with a sexual element. It is especially serious if continued after it has been made clear that the behaviour is unwanted. Sexual harassment includes, but is not limited to: unwelcome comments, innuendo, gestures or contact; unwelcome display of body or images; stalking or following; and conduct verging on criminal sexual assault. Sexual harassment may be of individuals or groups, by individuals or groups or by incitement of others.

Sexual harassment is not your fault. Whatever your role within the University and College, you do not have to put up with harassment. No-one, whatever their role within the University or College, has the right to harass others.

Racial harassment is an incident or a series of incidents intended or likely to intimidate, offend or harm an individual or group because of their ethnic origin, colour, race, religion or nationality. Racial harassment may be overt, such as physical attacks and insults, or more nuanced and covert. People may find that they are being excluded or ignored. At times, racial harassment comes under the cover of ‘banter’. Apparently small acts or comments may build up over time to become increasingly hurtful. Unconscious bias may cause people to speak or act in a racist way, without them necessarily realising it.

Racial harassment harms mental health, affects people’s studies, and damages careers. Research by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (October 2019) shows that much racial harassment in Universities goes unreported and is unaddressed. Newnham believes that no one should ever be subjected to racial harassment in any setting, and that we must take steps to recognise and tackle harassment.

If you have been sexually or racially harassed or assaulted, you can choose to

• talk to an advisor
• seek emotional support
• report harassment to the College and University
• report harassment anonymously
• report an assault or a hate crime to the police

It is your choice which of these you do. Talking to an advisor does not commit you to doing anything else. If you do not want to make a formal complaint, it is still worthwhile reporting the harassment anonymously, to give the University an understanding of the scale and nature of the problem.

All members of College, staff, students and Senior Members, can seek advice from

• our College Harassment Advisors:
  • Dr Kate Fleet, Postgraduate Tutor
  • Rev Dr Arabella Milbank Robinson, College Chaplain
  • Professor Helen Bao, College Tutor
• Julie Barker, the College Nurse
• Hiruni Cox, the College Wellbeing Advisor
• the Senior Tutor, Dr Sheila Watts
• the College BME Advisor, Professor Manali Desai

The College Harassment Advisors are available to offer advice to anyone with concerns regarding general bullying and harassment as well as sexual or racial harassment. To contact the Advisors, please send an email indicating that you would like to have a discussion on a sensitive topic, and suggest some times that you could meet them. They will arrange an appropriate time and place to meet. (Our advisors have varied working hours, but are likely to be available during weekdays between 9 and 5. Contact details are on their profile pages, linked to above.)

Students can seek also advice from

• your own Tutor
• a welfare officer of the JCR or MCR
• a BME officer of the JCR or MCR
• a BME officer at the Student Union
• the University’s Sexual Assault and Harassment Advisor

If you have witnessed sexual or racial harassment or general bullying, please report the incident to one of the above.

For 24 hour emergency support, please see the University’s Emergency Contacts information.

You can find other sources of support at https://www.race-equality.admin.cam.ac.uk/help-and-advice

Counselling services are available whether or not you decide to report the harassment formally.

The University Counselling Service can provide emotional support if you have been sexually harassed or assaulted.

The University’s Sexual Assault & Harassment Advisor can provide specialist support for students.

Senior Members and staff may have access to specialist support via their union, if they are union members.

If you feel that a hurtful comment was made through thoughtlessness or unconscious bias, you may wish to speak to or email the person directly, to explain how their words made you feel. You may be able to resolve the issue swiftly. Many people would be glad to learn if they were unintentionally causing distress to others, so that they can make sure it doesn’t happen again.

If you don’t feel confident about a direct approach, you could speak to an advisor, a Tutor or an JCR / SCR officer and see whether they can suggest a way to address the problem informally.

You may find the College’s guidance on ‘Procedures for Solving Problems’ useful.

If you choose to report sexual or racial harassment, there are different processes depending on your role within the College (student, staff, Senior Member), and the harasser’s role (student, University staff, College staff).

The College Harassment Advisors will be able to explain the relevant process to you, help you with the report and, where appropriate, offer support during the process.

You may not know yourself whether the harasser is a student, a member of University staff, College staff or neither. This doesn’t matter: the Harassment Advisor can find out and advise you on the relevant process. The different processes are outlined below.

A student will never be disadvantaged for raising a complaint that they believe to be genuine.  If you raise a complaint against a staff member, the University and College will ensure that you will not be assessed by or taught in a small group by that person. Again, the Harassment Advisors can talk to you about this.

Anyone can anonymously report any type of bullying, harassment, discrimination or sexual misconduct to the University using the anonymous reporting tool. However, its purpose is to gather a broader picture of harassment at the University, not to address any specific incidents.

There is an anonymous reporting tool (http://racismatcambridge.org/) specifically for reporting racist incidents at Cambridge, run by members of the Department of Sociology. This is a research project that aims to inform the work of anti-racist activism in the University. It will not address any specific incidents. You may wish to report a racist incident via this tool, to give a bigger picture of the issue, in addition to making a formal complaint.

You can talk to a Harassment Advisor to get advice without needing to take it further.

If you are a student, you can speak to a JCR or MCR Welfare Officer informally. They will not be able to take formal action, but they will be able to signpost you to sources of support.

Sexual assault, rape, racist abuse and racially-motivated assaults are serious criminal offences. You can choose to report them to the police, who have the authority and resources to investigate. You can report a rape at any time, including many years after the event.

Cambridge Constabulary website has information on how to report sexual offenses and rape and Cambridge City Council website has information on reporting racial harassment.

The University’s Sexual Assault and Harassment Advisor can provide students with emotional and practical advice following an assault.

If you report a matter to the police, you can still report a matter to the University or College. The University is able to take precautionary action whilst the police are conducting an investigation, which will prevent the other person from having any contact with you during the investigation.

This is an overview of the different processes that would be followed, depending on if the harasser was a student, or who they were employed by. This is intended to give you some context – the Harassment Advisor would guide you through this process.

i. Students reporting harassment by a student

The procedures for students reporting racial harassment are set out in the College’s guidance on ‘Procedures for solving problems (complaints from students)’

If you are a student who has been sexually harassed by a fellow student, the complaint will be dealt with by the University. The approach will be the same whether the student harassing you is at this or any other College.

You have two options about how to report the behaviour, depending on the outcome you would like to see. The Harassment Advisor can discuss these options with you.

You can follow the Procedure for Student Harassment & Sexual Misconduct, if you would like to limit your contact with the other student.

You can follow the University Student Disciplinary Procedure, if you would like the matter to be formally investigated, with the possibility of sanctions imposed on the student. You can read about these in more detail

ii. Students reporting sexual harassment by a University staff member

If you are a student who has been sexually harassed by a University staff member, the complaint will be dealt with by the University.

The Harassment Advisor will discuss the process with you.

At no point during the investigation will you be expected to be in the same room as the staff member. You will not need to attend any hearing.  You will always be informed of the outcome of your complaint and any actions that directly affect you. Find out more about this

iii. Students reporting harassment by a Newnham College staff member or Senior Member

If you are a student who has been harassed by a Newnham College staff member or Senior Member, the complaint will be dealt with by the College following the relevant procedures.

This can be a formal or informal process, depending on the situation. The Harassment Advisor will discuss the options with you, and support and advise you during the process. You may also wish to speak to the HR Manager.

The processes are set out in the Staff Handbook and the Senior Member’s Handbook under ‘Dignity at Work’.

iv. Students reporting harassment by a staff member or Senior Member of another College

If you are a student who has been harassed by a member of staff or Senior Member of another College, the complaint will be dealt with by that College.

A Newnham Harassment Advisor can work with you to report the harassment to the appropriate person at that College, and to support and advise you during the process.

v. Staff and Senior Members of Newnham reporting harassment by other staff or Senior Members of Newnham

If you are a staff member or a Senior Member who has been harassed by another staff or Senior Member at Newnham, the complaint will be dealt with by the College, following the Dignity at Work procedures. These are set out in both the Staff Handbook and the Handbook for Senior Members. These are available via the Intranet.

You can choose whether to make a formal or an informal complaint. The Harassment Advisors can work with you to decide which you would prefer. You may also wish to talk to the HR Manager.

vi. Staff and Senior Members of Newnham reporting harassment by students

If you are a staff member or a Senior Member who has been harassed by a student (either at this College or elsewhere), the Harassment Advisor will work with you to address the case following the student disciplinary procedures, and to support you while this is resolved. You may also wish to talk to the Senior Tutor.

vii. If you’ve been accused of harassment or sexual misconduct

If you’ve been accused of harassment or sexual misconduct, guidance and information about the procedure is available on the University website. For staff members and Senior Members, information is also available in the Staff Handbook and the Handbook for Senior Members.

Breaking the Silence is the University’s campaign against sexual harassment and misconduct.

The University has a specialist Sexual Assault and Harassment Advisor who provides emotional and practical support to students who have been raped, sexually assaulted, or harassed, recently or in the past.

The University has a website focusing on Race Equality at Cambridge. This includes details of the University’s two Race Equality Champions, events and training courses, and advice on sources of support: https://www.race-equality.admin.cam.ac.uk/

The Office of Student Conduct, Complaints and Appeals (OSCCA) has a very helpful webpage, aimed at students, which explains the process of reporting harassment.