CW: Discussion of sexual assault
The University of Edinburgh upheld 18 out of 44 cases of sexual misconduct investigated during the 2020/21 and 2022/23 academic years, a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by The Student has revealed.
In total, 66 cases of sexual misconduct were reported, and students were the respondents in 58 instances. Eight reports were made against university staff.
According to the FOI, 44 reports were subsequently investigated.
Responding to the findings, the university’s Deputy Secretary Students, Lucy Evans, said:
“We understand how important it is for survivors to feel safe to come forward and report incidents.”
She said the university has established a “dedicated and specially-trained” team to support those affected and updated its procedures in January 2023 to ensure reports are investigated “robustly and fairly”.
Read More: University of Edinburgh’s handling of sexual misconduct criticised by students
“Since the establishment of the University’s Report and Support platform and Equally Safe Team, we have seen increasing numbers of students coming forward as more people become aware of the specialist support available to them”, she added.
The Student also spoke to Poppy Gerrard-Abbott, a PhD Student at the university who specialises in Gender-Based Violence (GBV) at UK universities and co-authored the EmilyTest GBV Charter, a framework of minimum standards for tackling GBV.
She said that reporting figures across the sector are rising among student and staff victim cohorts as “more are understanding their own victimisation and are speaking out”.
However, she noted that rates of violence remain high, saying that:
“GBV is endemic, everyday, and even mundane in university life.
“So many students in the UK are suffering in situations that reporting figures never scratch the surface of nor reflect the realities of GBV.”
She added that many reporting routes “remain not fit-for-purpose”. The University of Edinburgh is not currently employing the Emily Test GBV Charter.
Sex? On Campus!, an Edinburgh-based student campaign focusing on sex and consent education, said they were ‘unsurprised’ by the findings. The group told The Student that:
“Few survivors are willing to go through the re-traumatising and victim-blaming process of the Student Conduct Investigation when the odds are so clearly stacked against them.”
They added that: “66 is not a representative sample of students who have experienced sexual violence at the University of Edinburgh.”
Read More: In Conversation with ‘Sex? On Campus!’
The group’s Campaign Lead, Kate Wilson, went through the investigations process after she reported being sexually assaulted by an older student and called it “really stressful and quite traumatic”.
Kate said that the university dissuaded her and others from going to the police because it would make evidence inaccessible to the investigation.
She said: “even if that’s not their intent, they’re still putting people in danger by allowing these people to run around for a little bit longer, which is so frustrating”.
“They should [realise that] because these are the staff members that should have sufficient training, and the university should be providing that”.
She provided the investigation with “at least 10 witness statements” as well as “100 pages of screenshots”, including her texts and location history to prove that she was too incapacitated for the incident to be consensual.
The university did not uphold the case.
Kate added: “It’s not you versus him – it’s him versus the university’s code of conduct. It’s their reputation that is on the line as well.”
They said that the reputation of the university’s reporting and redressal system deters victims from reporting and empowers predators.
“I think the very fundamental thing that they need to be doing is listening, and there are people willing to speak.”
“When people come to events, they want to speak about it, but the university isn’t prepared to listen.”
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Sex? On Campus! is holding a protest at 9 am on 9 February in Bristo Square against the university’s treatment of sexual abuse survivors.
The university told The Student that “the safety of our students and staff is our absolute priority”.
It said it does not discourage or prevent students from reporting to the Police.
There are a number of resources available to those who have experienced sexual assault.
These include the Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre, the university’s Equally Safe Team, and NHS Scotland’s sexual assault self-referral phone service (SARCS).
Image via Sex? on Campus!