Universities '˜must act on sexual misconduct'

RESEARCH carried out by the University of Portsmouth revealed worrying findings relating to sexual misconduct in UK universities. Â

Lead author of the report, Dr Anna Bull, senior lecturer in sociology at the University of Portsmouth, said: '˜We need urgent action to improve institutional responses to staff sexual misconduct as well as a much more robust oversight across the sector in order to make sure that students are no longer silenced when they try to speak up.'

The main findings of the Silencing Students report, produced by the 1752 Group '“ a lobby organisation working to address sexual misconduct in higher education, indicated that many students believed that incidents were not always taken seriously, claiming that some reports of sexual misconduct were not investigated.

Dr Bull says many universities are working to improve on the issue and said: '˜We hope the report will help improve this institutional process.'