University handling of sexual assault reports

Overview

When a student reports a sexual assault to their university, several things should happen in parallel: the student should be treated as a victim of a potential crime and offered support and safety measures; the university should give clear information about reporting options, including to the police; and the university may run its own internal process (a support response and, separately, a disciplinary investigation if the accused person is another student or a staff member).

It is important to distinguish two overlapping but separate routes. A sexual assault is a criminal offence, and only the police and the criminal justice system can investigate and prosecute it as such. A university cannot decide guilt of a crime. What a university can do is offer support, take protective measures, and run an internal disciplinary process against its own students or staff on the balance of probabilities under its own conduct rules. These operate to different standards and for different purposes.

What the university is expected to do

From 1 August 2025, a new regulatory requirement, Condition E6 on harassment and sexual misconduct, applies to registered higher education providers in England through the Office for Students. Broadly, universities are expected to:

Publish a single, clear and accessible source of information setting out how a student can report or disclose harassment and sexual misconduct, what support is available, and how the provider will respond.

Make it easy to report, including options to disclose to a named contact, to report anonymously, or to have a third party report on the student’s behalf.

Provide support that does not depend on the student making a formal complaint or reporting to the police. A student should be able to access support even if they do not want any investigation.

Give the student clear information about their options, including the option to report to the police, and about what an internal process would and would not involve.

Take steps to keep the student safe while any process is ongoing.

Handle the report fairly, including fairness to the reporting student and to any accused person, and keep the student informed about progress.

Many universities have signed up to sector guidance and use trained disclosure responders, single points of contact and specialist sexual violence liaison staff. Good practice also draws on the earlier OfS statement of expectations and sector work on responding to disclosures.

Immediate support and safety

On receiving a report, the university should focus first on the student’s welfare and safety rather than immediately on investigation. Appropriate immediate steps commonly include:

1. Offering to arrange or signpost urgent medical care, and explaining that a Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) can provide medical care, forensic examination and support whether or not the student has decided to involve the police.

2. Explaining the option of reporting to the police, and offering practical help to do so, while making clear the student can choose not to.

3. Offering emotional support and referral to counselling, wellbeing services and specialist independent sexual violence advisers.

4. Considering practical protective measures such as changing accommodation, adjusting timetables or teaching groups, and no-contact arrangements to keep the reporting student and the accused person apart.

5. Considering academic support, such as extensions, mitigating circumstances or a break in study.

Support of this kind should be available regardless of whether the student wants a formal investigation, and regardless of whether the incident happened on or off campus.

Respecting the student’s choices

A central principle is that, so far as possible, the student should control what happens next. The university should not force the student to report to the police, and should not pressure the student into a formal disciplinary complaint. There are limited exceptions where a university may need to act on safeguarding grounds even without the student’s consent, for example where there is a serious and continuing risk to other people, or where a child or other vulnerable person may be at risk. Where that happens the university should still be transparent with the student about what it must do and why.

The internal disciplinary route

If the person accused is another student or a member of staff, the university can run its own disciplinary process. Key points:

The internal process is about breach of the university’s conduct rules, not criminal guilt. The standard of proof is usually the civil standard, the balance of probabilities, not the criminal standard of beyond reasonable doubt.

The process must be fair to both sides. That normally means the accused person is told the allegations, given a chance to respond, and dealt with by an impartial decision-maker. Outcomes can range from a warning to suspension or expulsion for a student, or disciplinary sanctions up to dismissal for staff.

The university can impose precautionary measures while it investigates, such as suspension or no-contact conditions, provided these are proportionate and reviewed.

There is longstanding sector guidance on handling cases that may also be criminal. Where the police are investigating, a university may pause parts of its internal process to avoid prejudicing the criminal case, but it can and should still put support and interim safety measures in place, and it can proceed internally where doing so would not prejudice a criminal investigation.

Police and criminal process

If the student reports to the police, the police investigate and, with the Crown Prosecution Service, decide whether to charge. The criminal process is separate from anything the university does. A student can report to the police at any time, and can also access a SARC directly. The university’s internal process can run alongside or after a police investigation, subject to the coordination points above. The outcome of a criminal case does not bind the university’s internal decision, because the tests and standards of proof differ, so an internal finding can be made even if there is no criminal charge or conviction.

Confidentiality and data

Information about the report should be handled sensitively and shared only with those who need it, consistent with data protection law and the university’s duty of care. The student should be told who will be informed and why. Anonymised reporting options should not commit the university to a full investigation the student does not want, and the limits of confidentiality (for example serious risk to others) should be explained up front.

If the university handles it badly

If a university fails to follow its own published procedures, fails to provide support, or handles the report unfairly, the student has options:

1. Raise it through the university’s internal complaints procedure and obtain a Completion of Procedures letter at the end.

2. Complain to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA), the independent ombudsman for student complaints in England and Wales, once the internal process is exhausted.

3. Where a provider systemically fails to meet Condition E6, this is a matter the Office for Students can consider as a regulatory issue, although the OfS does not resolve individual complaints.

4. Depending on the facts, there may be separate legal avenues, for example claims connected to how the institution discharged its duties, or a claim to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority for a victim of a violent crime.

What is missing and would change the picture

The precise process depends on the individual university’s published harassment and sexual misconduct policy, which each provider must now maintain. Whether the accused person is a student, a member of staff or an unconnected third party changes which internal route applies. Whether the incident happened on campus, in halls or entirely off campus can affect the university’s disciplinary reach but not its duty to support. And the student’s own wishes about police involvement and formal investigation will strongly shape what happens next.

Practical next steps for a student

1. If in immediate danger, contact the police on 999; otherwise consider contacting a Sexual Assault Referral Centre, which can preserve forensic options and provide medical care and support without committing you to a police report.

2. Find and read your university’s harassment and sexual misconduct policy or “report and support” pages, which should set out named contacts and the options open to you.

3. Ask the university for support and interim safety measures (accommodation moves, no-contact arrangements, academic adjustments) even if you have not decided whether to make a formal complaint or go to the police.

4. Keep a dated record of what happened, of the report you made, and of who you spoke to, as this helps with any later process.

5. Consider free specialist support from a sexual violence charity or an independent sexual violence adviser, who can help you weigh the police route, the university route, or both, at your own pace.