The University of Lincoln will be taking part in a new national study into how universities
handle sexual misconduct allegations on campus.
Over 60 higher education institutions are taking part in the research funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, which will ‘help shape the guidance, information and sources of support available’ to students who have experienced sexual misconduct.
In an email to students, the university said the research is an opportunity for students ‘to contribute to important research that will inform the sector, and shape the future of support services available on campus’.
“The research at Lincoln is being led by the Student Wellbeing Centre, and aims to ensure students feel supported, empowered to make smart choices, and speak out if they need to,” it reads.
Students with comments and suggestions about ‘how best to focus services appropriately’ have since been invited to complete a short anonymous survey about sexual misconduct, available online.
The new research comes after the Student Wellbeing Centre launched an initiative for students to report cases of sexual misconduct at the start of the academic year.
Speaking to The Linc earlier this year, Julie Spencer, Head of the Student Wellbeing Service at the University of Lincoln, said: “The issue of consent is one that has rightly become more frequently discussed in recent years, and at Lincoln we have always supported wider campaigns like #NoMore by the local authorities, and bystander intervention programmes.
“This new online resource is building on an already robust system of support that we have in place – we’re taking our advice and guidance and putting it into a digital format which we know our students will engage well with.
“We’re being proactive rather than responding to an issue – we know that topics like consent are really important for young people to discuss, and it’s this kind of open and transparent activity which empowers people to make smart choices, speak out if they need to, and most importantly, feel supported.”
Students who have experienced inappropriate behaviour are advised to contact the Student Wellbeing Centre in confidence on 01522 886400, by email at studentwellbeing@lincoln.ac.uk , or through the online reporting system.