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Making Power Visible: “Slow Activism” to Address Staff Sexual Misconduct in Higher Education
Page, T. Bull, A., & Chapman, E. 2019. Making Power Visible: “Slow Activism” to Address Staff Sexual Misconduct in Higher Education. Violence Against Women, 25(11): 1309-1330.
This article examines activism to address staff-to-student sexual misconduct in higher education in the United Kingdom from our perspective as founders and members of the research and lobby organisation The 1752 Group.
Use of non-disclosure agreements in higher education
17 April 2019
Call for action: The 1752 Group calls for all UK universities to end the use of non-disclosure agreements in cases of sexual misconduct. We call on all allies and supporters to lobby their own institutions to this effect. Run your own campaign and find more information…
Victoria Derbyshire interview featuring Dr Emma Chapman speaking about NDAs and her experience of staff sexual misconduct
For the full interview on the use of NDAs in cases of bullying and sexual misconduct see the Victoria Derbyshire, 17 April 2019 episode (at the 41.30sec mark)
BBC article about the use of NDAs to silence victims of bullying, discrimination and sexual misconduct featuring Dr Emma Chapman, 17 April 2019
iNews article featuring an interview with Dr Emma Chapman, 17 April 2019
Faculty and Staff Sexual Misconduct Conference
31 October 2018
We are co-organising the Faculty and Staff Sexual Misconduct Conference, 30 June -2 July 2019 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. Please visit the conference website.
OIA Disciplinary Procedures guidance
31 October 2018
The UK Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) has published a new section of the Good Practice Framework: Disciplinary procedures.
The OIA has also released a briefing note on complaints involving sexual misconduct and harassment, which can be found here.
We welcome the new guidance for higher education providers from the OIAHE in dealing with complaints involving sexual misconduct and harassment. In particular, we welcome the emphasis on remedy towards the student complainant, whereby, as the OIA describes, ‘the student making the complaint should be given some resolution to their complaint’, whether an explanation, a publicised action, an apology, or financial or academic remedy, depending on what the student is seeking. As our research report, Silencing Students, found, often students make complaints of sexual misconduct against staff in order to protect other students, so we would like to see safeguarding measures included in the possibilities for remedial action.
Silencing Students: Institutional responses to staff sexual misconduct in UK higher education
26 September 2018
This report explores institutional responses to sexual misconduct carried out by academic staff in UK higher education. It draws on data from interviews with students and early career academics across 14 UK higher education institutions. It includes an analysis of 61 policies relating to staff sexual misconduct from a sample of 25 UK institutions. The report includes The 1752 Group recommendations and priorities for institutions and the sector.
Download the report Silencing Students_The 1752 Group.
Disciplinary processes recommendations
26 September 2018
The 1752 Group has partnered with leading law firm McAllister Olivarius to develop recommendations and guidance for disciplinary processes into staff sexual misconduct in UK higher education.
This is drafted as a consultation document that will be amended in response to input from invited sector bodies and experts.
The recommendations and guidance can be downloaded here:
End Non-Discloure Agreements Campaign #EndNDAs
3 August 2018
“The 1752 Group now calls for all UK universities to end the use of NDAs in cases of sexual misconduct and calls all allies and supporters to lobby their own institutions to this effect.”
See here for details of a letter you can send to decision makers at your university to call for the end of the use of non-disclosure agreements in cases of staff sexual misconduct.
For further details on how NDAs have been used by UK universities and the end to the use of NDAs by University College London see this article in The Times.
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The 1752 Group
The 1752 Group is a UK-based research and lobby organisation working to end staff-to-student sexual misconduct in higher education.
Nowhere in the world is there adequate knowledge and research on the prevalence and impact of staff sexual misconduct in higher education.
We work at a national level to educate and lobby for change in the UK higher education sector by drawing attention to the complexity and impact of staff sexual misconduct and proposing solutions to address these issues.
The group forms partnerships and works in collaboration with academics, student unions, support services experts, universities and national organisations to conduct research that will lead to the development of best practice guidelines for the higher education sector.
Strategic Priorities
We have six key priorities for addressing staff sexual misconduct. Read our strategic priorities for the higher education sector.
Working with universities
We assist universities to develop preventive strategies, policy and response frameworks for incidents of sexual misconduct that occur within their institutions, and make sure their students are supported. We partner with organisations who offer expertise in institutional culture change.
We are committed to:
- Developing research on sexual misconduct in higher education
Research and data on the prevalence and impact of staff-to-student sexual misconduct in the UK is extremely limited. The 1752 Group is partnering with sector experts and organisations to develop qualitative and quantitative research that will help inform the development of best practice guidelines within the sector.
- UK-wide sexual misconduct policy implementation
The 1752 Group is lobbying for robust and effective policy and procedures to be implemented across higher education nationally for the specific recording, reporting and prevention of sexual misconduct by all university staff.
