University of Birmingham accused of failing to investigate rape cases

The University of Birmingham is being criticised after several women have claimed that it failed to investigate rape allegations sufficiently.

Recent reports that the university threw out complaints follow the alleged rape of a student which was not investigated as it took place “off campus”. The university argued its code of conduct did not cover “off campus” complaints at the time.

The Tab Birmingham reported the university’s perceived failings in September through a series of interviews with a student referred to as ‘Alice’.

The report contains an account of the events of the night she alleges she was raped by another Birmingham student referred to as ‘David’ and text messages she sent to her friend, highlighting how the incident affected her mental health significantly.

A recent article from The Guardian highlighted further instances where rape allegations, said to have taken place both off campus and in campus accommodation, were supposedly dismissed by the university.

It highlights claims from another student, known as ‘Nicole’, whose case the university refused to investigate after a number of requests to do so from both her and her father.

The Guardian revealed further instances of rape allegations, said to have taken place on and off campus.

She told The Guardian that the university had told her that no rules had been broken by the man in question and that she had received no counselling from them as they claimed university counsellors lacked specialist training in trauma caused by sexual violence.

The Guardian highlighted two further cases. One was dismissed because the claimant could not prove the incident had taken place on campus. The victim of the other case claimed university police mishandled her complaint, engaging in victim-blaming and homophobia towards her.

‘Elizabeth’ told The Guardian that university police had passed on details of her case to another member of staff without her consent and that the police officer in question had dealt with her claim in a “disgusting” way.

“He asked me had I been drinking? Was I on drugs? And when I said no to both of these questions he said ‘well, why on earth did you sleep with him then if you’re gay’? And I said, well, the point is that I didn’t,” she said.

Holly Battrick, a Womens’ Officer at Birmingham’s Guild of Students last academic year, who helped ‘Alice’ with her complaint, said “horrific stories of what they’d been through firstly in terms of [sexual assaults by] other students but also in terms of how the university dealt with it” had caused her to lose faith in the university’s disciplinary procedures relating to such cases.

I want every […] student who reports incidents of sexual assault and violence to be treated fairly and personally.

– Millie Gibbins

In a statement, the university apologised if any students felt the support it offered “fell short of their expectations”.

A spokesperson for the university said: “The safety and wellbeing of our students is of paramount importance and we have invested significantly in taking a proactive approach to supporting students who have suffered sexual abuse whenever and wherever it may have occurred. This includes help with accessing specialist support and counselling services, working with the police, and pursuing any formal action.”

The sexual assault reporting tool at the University of Birmingham, “You Report, We Support”, has recently been criticised by the Guild of Students’ Welfare Officer Millie Gibbins, who has announced that she will review its effectiveness following The Tab Birmingham’s report.

In a statement, Ms Gibbins said: “I want every University of Birmingham student who reports incidents of sexual assault and violence to be treated fairly and personally, with access to a service which supports them no matter where the incident took place.”

She also encouraged victims to report cases to the university and the police.