What can I do if the university refuses to investigate

The starting point: a lack of witnesses is not a proper reason to refuse to investigate

The single most important thing to understand is that the university’s stated reason is legally weak. In student disciplinary and complaints processes the standard of proof is the civil standard, the balance of probabilities, not the criminal standard of beyond reasonable doubt. Sexual misconduct very often happens in private with no witnesses and no independent evidence, and a fair process is expected to reach findings on the available material, including the account of the reporting student, the response of the accused, any surrounding circumstances, messages, timelines, and the credibility and consistency of each account.

A blanket policy of refusing to investigate whenever there are no witnesses would, in effect, mean the university never investigates the most common category of sexual misconduct. That is very difficult to defend as fair, and it may breach the university’s own regulations as well as its wider legal duties.

The university’s own regulations and contract

Your relationship with the university is contractual. Its student complaints procedure, disciplinary regulations and any dedicated sexual misconduct or harassment policy form part of that contract, and the university is bound to follow them. Look carefully at what those documents actually say about when a report will be investigated. They will usually set a threshold along the lines of whether the allegation, if true, would amount to a breach of the rules, not whether it can already be proved. If the policy does not say that corroborating evidence or witnesses are a precondition to investigating, then refusing on that basis is a departure from the university’s own procedure, which is itself a ground of complaint.

The new regulatory duty: OfS condition E6

Since 1 August 2025 all registered higher education providers in England are subject to Office for Students condition of registration E6 on harassment and sexual misconduct. Among other things it requires providers to have a clear, fair and accessible way for students to report harassment and sexual misconduct, to remove unnecessary barriers to reporting, and to provide appropriate support before, during and after an investigation. A practice of turning away credible reports simply because there is no independent witness is precisely the kind of barrier this regime is intended to address. While E6 is a matter the OfS enforces against the provider rather than a direct personal claim for you, it is a powerful reference point when you challenge the refusal internally and when you escalate externally.

Possible Equality Act dimension

Sexual misconduct and sexual harassment engage the Equality Act 2010. A university is a service provider and education body under that Act. If its handling of your complaint (for example a policy that in practice screens out complaints of a kind disproportionately affecting women or other groups) puts you at a disadvantage, or if its failure to act allows a hostile environment to continue, there may be a discrimination or victimisation angle. This is fact sensitive and depends on exactly what happened, but it is worth identifying because it strengthens both the internal challenge and any later legal claim, and Equality Act claims against education providers generally go to the County Court.

What to do, in a sensible order

1. Get the refusal in writing. If the decision to refuse to investigate was given verbally, ask for it in writing with reasons and the specific policy provision relied on. This pins the university down and creates a record.

2. Gather and preserve your own evidence. Even where there are no witnesses, there is often more material than people assume: texts, WhatsApp and social media messages, emails, screenshots, location or timestamp data, a contemporaneous diary note, evidence you told a friend, flatmate or tutor at the time, medical or counselling records, and any CCTV or door-entry logs. Ask the university to preserve any records it holds before they are routinely deleted.

3. Challenge the refusal through the internal route. Use the university’s formal complaints procedure to challenge the decision not to investigate. Set out clearly that the balance of probabilities applies, that absence of witnesses is not a bar to investigation, that the relevant policy does not require corroboration, and refer to OfS condition E6. Ask specifically for the report to be investigated under the correct procedure. Keep to any internal deadlines, which are often short.

4. Exhaust the internal process and get a Completion of Procedures letter. You generally need to take the internal complaint to its final stage. When it ends, ask for a Completion of Procedures letter, which you will need for the ombudsman.

5. Take it to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA). The OIA is the independent ombudsman for student complaints against higher education providers in England and Wales. It can review whether the university acted reasonably and followed its own procedures fairly, and it commonly considers cases about the mishandling of sexual misconduct complaints. It can recommend that the university reinvestigate, apologise, change its processes, and pay compensation. The scheme is free to you. You normally have twelve months from the end of the internal process to complain to the OIA.

6. Consider reporting to the police in parallel. A university process is separate from the criminal justice system and cannot deliver a criminal outcome, but you are entitled to report the matter to the police at any time. You can pursue both routes at once, and a criminal complaint does not depend on the university acting.

7. Notify the OfS if there is a systemic problem. If the refusal reflects a blanket policy rather than a one-off decision, you can raise it with the Office for Students as a potential breach of condition E6. The OfS does not resolve individual complaints, but student notifications inform its regulatory action against providers.

8. Consider legal advice on a possible claim. Depending on the facts, there may be scope for a breach of contract claim or an Equality Act claim in the County Court, and specialist advice would let you weigh cost, delay, evidence and litigation risk against the ombudsman route, which is usually quicker, cheaper and lower risk.

Support while you do this

Universities are required under E6 to provide support to reporting students. Ask what support is available regardless of whether a formal investigation goes ahead, including welfare support, academic adjustments such as extensions or deferral, and safety measures such as changes to accommodation or timetabling to avoid contact with the accused. Your students’ union advice service can also help you draft the complaint and navigate the process, and independent specialist services can offer emotional and practical support.

Key facts that would sharpen this answer

The best next steps depend on several things you have not yet set out: whether the alleged perpetrator is another student, a member of staff, or someone unconnected with the university; exactly what the written policy says about the threshold for investigating; whether you have already completed the internal complaints process; how long ago the incident and the refusal were, because time limits matter; and what evidence you do in fact hold. If you can identify those points, the strategy can be tailored, but the immediate priorities are the same: get the refusal and its reasons in writing, preserve evidence, and formally challenge the refusal internally with reference to the correct standard of proof and condition E6.