Preventing and dealing with sexual harassment

The request was successful.

Dear University of Warwick,

1. Does the University have a policy for staff regarding sexual harassment/misconduct between (a) staff and staff, (b) staff and students? If so, please provide this, preferably a link to it or electronically. Such a policy might concern definitions, how to report, processes, and so on.
2. What kind of training (e.g. online or in-person; voluntary or compulsory) is provided to staff regarding sexual harassment/misconduct? Approximately how many staff have undergone this training in the last year? [or last year that has available data]
3. In the last year [or last year that has available data], how many cases of alleged sexual harassment/misconduct by staff (staff-student or staff-staff) have been reported to the university?

Yours faithfully,

R. Brunk

infocompliance, Resource, University of Warwick



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infocompliance, Resource, University of Warwick

Dear R Brunk,

 

Thank you for submitting an FOI request, requesting information from the
University of Warwick. In order to comply with your request, we would be
grateful if you could please clarify the following:

 

·       Please could you specify the ‘year’ that you are referring to
where you say “in the last year”. Are you looking to receive this
information for the last academic year or calendar year?

Please be advised that the University will be unable to proceed with your
request until you have provided the requested clarifications and the 20
working day statutory time limit does not begin until clarification has
been received. Should we not receive a reply to this email, your request
will be closed in 20 working days.

 

Kind regards

 

Information and Data Compliance Team

 

 

show quoted sections

Dear infocompliance, Resource,

"In the last year" would refer to the 2018/19 academic year. Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

R. Brunk

infocompliance, Resource, University of Warwick

R. Brunk

 

Thank you for your email dated 11 March 2020 requesting information from
the University of Warwick under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Please find below your request and the University’s response.

1.                 Does the University have a policy for staff regarding
sexual harassment/misconduct between (a) staff and staff, (b) staff and
students? If so, please provide this, preferably a link to it or
electronically. Such a policy might concern definitions, how to report,
processes, and so on.

The University can confirm that the [1]Sexual Misconduct Policy, which
currently applies to students, was recently updated. However, some further
changes are underway with a view of creating more parity between both the
staff and student procedures, where practically possible. This work aims
to ensure that the recent developments and best practice from student
processes are extended to staff; particularly in terms of reporting,
support and communication. There are several options currently available
to staff to report cases of sexual misconduct including but not limited to
the [2]Dignity at Warwick Policy. Any allegations made against employees
at the University are considered in accordance with the University’s
Disciplinary Policy. 

 

2.                 What kind of training (e.g. online or in-person;
voluntary or compulsory) is provided to staff regarding sexual
harassment/misconduct? Approximately how many staff have undergone this
training in the last year? [or last year that has available data].

Training of staff involved in sexual misconduct investigations and
disciplinary committees involves a face-to-face training programme, which
covers:

•                 Trauma informed practice – delivered by CRASCA

•                 Respondent perspective – delivered by external
investigator

•                 Legal approach versus University Regulations – delivered
by external legal

•                 New policy and process – delivered by in-house team

•                 Disciplinary process/operations – delivered by in-house
team

•                 Roles of those involved - delivered by in-house team

 

This programme is tailored for the following audiences:

•                 Current panel Chairs and Members 

•                 Future panel Chairs and Members

•                 Lead Student Union Officers

•                 External Investigating Officers

•                 Student Discipline and Resolution Team

•                 Student Discipline Review Group

•                 First responders – Wellbeing, Security, Personal Tutors

•                 All departments – via senior leadership or all staff
meetings

 

The University can confirm that for the last academic year there were a
total of 47 staff from specialist roles who received face to face sexual
misconduct training.  

 

3.                 In the last year [or last year that has available
data], how many cases of alleged sexual harassment/misconduct by staff
(staff-student or staff-staff) have been reported to the university?

After the University sought clarification from you on 12 ^ March 2020, you
provided the following further information:

 

"In the last year" would refer to the 2018/19 academic year. Thank you.

The University can also confirm that for the academic year 2018/19 there
were < 5 cases in which formal complaints had been raised by staff
concerning sexual harassment by another member of staff.

 

Please note that where the University has stated the value as ‘< 5’ it
declines to provide the actual figure or any further level of detail on
the grounds that the numbers are very small and could potentially lead to
the identification of individuals, which may place the University in
breach of the General Data Protection Regulation 2016 and the Data
Protection Act 2018. The University is relying on the exemption under
section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in this regard.

 

If you are dissatisfied with the way in which your request has been
handled you can request an internal review within one month of our
response and, in the first instance, you are advised to follow the
procedure outlined here:
[3]http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/legal...

If you remain dissatisfied with how your request has been handled, you
have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at: The Information
Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Walter Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire,
SK9 5AF (0303 123 1113) ([4]https://ico.org.uk/) There is no charge for
making an appeal.

Yours sincerely,

Ian Rowley
Ian Rowley | Director of Development, Comms & External Affairs| External
Affairs
University House | University of Warwick | Coventry | CV4 8UW

 

References

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1. https://warwick.ac.uk/about/values/sexua...
2. https://warwick.ac.uk/services/equalops/...
3. http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/legal...
4. https://ico.org.uk/

Dear infocompliance, Resource,

Thank you for providing the information for this request.

Yours sincerely,

R. Brunk

infocompliance, Resource, University of Warwick

Thank you for your email which has been received by the University's
Information and Data Compliance Team. 
The University undertakes to respond to Freedom of Information Requests
within 20 working days and to Data Subject Rights Requests within one
month.*

If your query is not related to a Freedom of Information Request or Data
Subject Rights Request, but is related to a data protection
matter, please redirect it to [1][email address].

Kind regards

Information and Data Compliance Team.

 

*Please note that due to the global Covid-19 pandemic, the University of
Warwick is following the advice of the UK Government and where possible
staff are working from home. New working arrangements coupled with the
prioritisation of university resources may impact upon the University’s
ability to respond to your request within the statutory timescales and you
may experience delays when making information rights requests during the
pandemic. Thank you for your patience during these unprecedented times.

References

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1. mailto:[email address]