On 30 July the Office for Students published a new condition of registration for tackling harassment and sexual misconduct in English higher education.

“Sexual misconduct is as unacceptable in higher education as it is anywhere in society, and no student or staff member should have to experience it. Sadly, it is clear this wider societal problem continues to impact higher education, despite much positive work in the sector to tackle it.

We want every student and staff member of our institutions to feel safe in our environments, and we recognise that universities and their leaders have an important role to play in promoting safe environments and bringing about the wider cultural changes needed to admonish this type of behaviour once and for all.

We also recognise that we alone cannot bring about that change. We will, therefore, work with our members and UUK to support the implementation of this new condition and to share good practice.

We will also welcome discussions with the regulator and Government to evaluate the effectiveness of this new regulatory requirement in bringing about the changes we wish to see so that we may work collaboratively and constructively in delivering these positive changes.“ – Dr Brooke Storer-Church, Chief Executive Officer, GuildHE