UK universities roll out consent courses to tackle harassment

In accordance to a report released on Wednesday, eight in ten universities surveyed said they had introduced new measures to tackle harassment and hate crime, including better information on how to report incidents, more support for victims and new discipline procedures.

Much like U.S. college campuses, British universities have come under pressure to act after a jump in reported incidents and accusations of poor follow-up and support.

According to figures obtained under freedom of information laws by the BBC, nearly 1,500 allegations of sexual harassment or sexual violence against university students were registered in 2018-19, up from 476 in 2016-17.

The survey said two-thirds of British universities had now introduced sexual consent courses for students.

The report, by umbrella group Universities UK (UUK), received responses from 92 out of its 136 members and found that 65% had rolled out consent training.

Campaigners said the survey failed to question any students, many of whom complain about poor support when reporting sexual harassment and violence to university authorities.

"This is just one part of the story," said Anne Bull, a director of the 1752 Group which campaigns to end sexual misconduct in higher education.

"We want to know what the experience is for the students who report sexual violence and sexual harassment to the university," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

While universities have made progress on handling sexual harassment, they have failed to prioritize other forms of harassment, including racial harassment, the report found.

"It is clear that there is a long way to go in ending harassment and hate crime for good in higher education," said Julia Buckingham, UUK's president.

Reuters.