Tick-box training?: Warwick’s handling of sexual misconduct cases continues to fail students seven years on

Seven years on from the rape chat scandal, Warwick students are still faced with a “culture of sexual misconduct”, an investigation by The Boar has found.   

From training for the Community Safety Team to awareness courses for students, it seems that on the surface the University is doing all that it can to prevent sexual misconduct on campus and protect students.  

However, through a Freedom of Information request and exclusive student polling, The Boar has uncovered concerning data that not only highlights the issue of sexual misconduct on campus but also showcases the ways in which the University handles reports of incidents of this nature. 

Student trust in the University has become evidently fragile, with students’ lived experiences suggesting that there is a disconnect between the University’s policy and its practice.  

This gap is particularly evident when looking at the role of the Community Safety Team, a group whose primary role is to safeguard students. 

Only 52% of students told The Boar that they would go to the Community Safety Team about their concerns regarding, or experiences of, sexual misconduct on campus

The University told The Boar that their Community Safety Team provides a “24-hour, 365-days-a-year service to protect the safety and wellbeing of every student, member of staff, and visitor to the University”. 

Currently, there are 34 members of staff in the Community Safety Team. Since 2019, the “entire” team “have received sexual violence training and new staff are provided with training as part of their programme”. Refresher training is also given to staff. 

Despite this training, only 52% of students told The Boar that they would go to the Community Safety Team about their concerns regarding, or experiences of, sexual misconduct on campus. Some said that they “would worry it would put” them in “more danger”, while others “wouldn’t have thought to go to them”.  

Students also referred to a lack of forward-facing “female officers”, stating that the “team is dominated by scary looking men”. This causes individuals to feel uncomfortable at the thought of reporting sexual misconduct to officers. Currently, there are only ten female Community Safety Officers listed on the website, out of the total 34.  

Others also said they would not turn to Community Safety Officers due to negative experiences that they, or their friends, have had. One individual said that their friends have often been “disregarded if there isn’t an obvious physical issue”.  

These feelings are reflective of those felt by many in 2018, following the University’s response to the rape chat scandal

Only one respondent to The Boar’s poll had experience reporting sexual misconduct to the Community Safety Team. They said they were “satisfied”, but said that they think that the Team is not “always alert”, suggesting that even those who had positive experiences are left feeling disenfranchised by the Team’s overall work.  

These feelings are reflective of those felt by many in 2018, following the University’s response to the rape chat scandal. The scandal concerned a group chat in which Warwick students had written targeted sexual messages about their peers. An investigation by the University resulted in two students being banned from campus for 10 years, two for one year, and one for life.  

Four months later, however, the two students with the longest bans had them reduced from 10 years to just one. This led to a series of protests in which students and staff marched to express their dissatisfaction with how the University had dealt with the incident.  

Seven years on from this scandal, its impact is still felt with one respondent to The Boar’s poll stating: “Warwick doesn’t deal with stuff well, just think about that group chat years ago.” Evidently, the aftermath of this incident has stood the test of time with it continuing to inform the perspectives that current students hold about the University’s handling of sexual misconduct cases. 

This long-lasting effect is unsurprising. The group chat, and the scandal surrounding it, made national headlines and highlighted the culture of sexism, misogyny, and misconduct that existed on UK university campuses. 

49% of the poll’s respondents had experienced sexual misconduct themselves whilst studying at Warwick, with nearly eight in 10 (78%) knowing someone who has experienced sexual misconduct

Even now, since these problems have since been brought to light, results from The Boar’s poll proves that sexual misconduct is still an issue affecting a large proportion of Warwick students today. 

49% of the poll’s respondents had experienced sexual misconduct themselves whilst studying at Warwick, with nearly eight in 10 (78%) knowing someone who has experienced sexual misconduct.  

In addition to this, 60% believe that there is a rape culture present on campus, something which the Students’ Union (SU) Vice President-Elect for Welfare and Campaigns, Ollie Chapman, referenced during campaign hustings. 

One respondent stated that while there is perhaps not a rape culture on campus, “there is definitely a culture of sexual misconduct”. Another echoed this sentiment, stating that “sexual violence is a disease that needs to be stamped out”.  

Despite this high percentage of students having experiences, or knowing someone who has experienced, sexual misconduct, only 23% of these people reported, or knew that their friends reported, their experiences to the University. The majority of those who reported their experiences used the Report + Support system, which operates at universities across the UK, and sees students raise any concerns that they have to the university which they are studying at. 

In the last academic year, 127 incidents of sexual misconduct were disclosed by students to Warwick’s Report + Support, with a further 49 disclosing relationship abuse.  

These disclosures are not the same as making a formal complaint with a significant proportion of students choosing to make their Report + Support disclosures anonymously. According to The Boar’s poll, this anonymity typically comes from fear of personal repercussions or being uncomfortable with the reporting process. 

Another [respondent] “felt the panel was biased and more directed towards protecting the academic career of perpetrators than helping get justice for people who have experienced sexual harassment”

Once an incident is reported via Report + Support individuals can speak to a Report + Support Officer and are often referred to wellbeing. Some also receive advice on police reporting. 

One student, however, told The Boar that Report + Support informed them that they were “better off not reporting” their experiences.  

Of those who had reported incidents of sexual misconduct, 41% did not feel adequately supported by the University. 

One respondent spoke of perpetrators not having “to take any form of responsibility as the University was ‘unable to do anything’ due to ‘context’, evidence, or victim’s withdrawal and reluctance in the formal reporting process”.  

Furthermore, one respondent felt unsupported as they have been left with an “open case that could be reopened at any point in time”, and another “felt the panel was biased and more directed towards protecting the academic career of perpetrators than helping get justice for people who have experienced sexual harassment”.  

Many mentioned that the “Wellbeing Team could have been better”, with one stating that the confidential nature of Report + Support “makes getting support outside of what they provide you with difficult”.  

[The University said] that they are “committed to tackling all types of unacceptable behaviour on campus” with “disciplinary action [taken] where cases are proven”

On the other hand, some have had positive experiences with “good advice” and “quick” support. These productive reports can result in sanctions for perpetrators. Additionally, the University told The Boar that they “take a trauma-informed and survivor-led response to all issues that are raised”. 

One respondent to The Boar’s poll said that their sexual assaulter was “forced to go on a ‘drunk awareness course’ or be fined £200”. However, another said that their “ongoing investigation” has had no outcomes despite it having been “four months” since the incident was reported.  

While the University told The Boar they were “unable to comment on individual cases that have been reported to our team”, they did say that they are “committed to tackling all types of unacceptable behaviour on campus” with “disciplinary action [taken] where cases are proven”.  

In 2023/24, less than five students were sanctioned for sexual misconduct. The sanctions received by these students included withdrawals, formal reprimands, and having to complete a reflective statement or an awareness course. 

Awareness courses of this nature are not only given to perpetrators, but also to all Warwick students. Upon enrolment and re-enrolment, all students are asked to agree to the University’s principles and complete the ‘Student Conduct’ Moodle. According to the University, “this academic year, over 20,000 students completed the Moodle student conduct training”.  

Many people seem to scoff at the sexual misconduct training saying, ‘nobody would ever do that’ [but if you] speak to [those people] after five beers, they’re the epitome of what those [courses] are trying to prevent

Boar survey respondent

With this course, Warwick meets the first principle of the EmilyTest Gender-Based Violence Charter, a charter which allows educational institutions to check that they are meeting minimum standards to prevent gender-based violence (GBV). 

This charter was created by Fiona Drouet after the death of her daughter, Emily. Drouet identified missed opportunities that her daughter’s university could have taken to save her life. The charter asks whether colleges and universities are doing all they can to prevent GBV. Warwick is one of five English universities to pilot the charter as they “always seek to improve and strengthen” their “support offer”. 

‘Educated and empowered’ is the second of the EmilyTest Charter Principles and, in addition to the Student Conduct Moodle page, Warwick offers education courses “directly to students’ phones, including consent training”. 

This consent training had “an engagement rate of 84%”. While this engagement rate shows that the majority are completing this course, 16% of students are still falling through the cracks. 

One respondent to The Boar’s poll felt that these courses are not enough and that “education needs to be better”. Another respondent reiterated this message by stating that “many people seem to scoff at the sexual misconduct training saying, ‘nobody would ever do that’”. They went on to say that if you “speak to [those people] after five beers, they’re the epitome of what those [courses] are trying to prevent”.  

To improve these training courses, students want to see a focus on “setting boundaries for small things” to prevent them from “escalating”. They stated that people are “supportive and disgusted” when it comes to “actual assault” but that “the small things leading up to” it are often disregarded.  

Progress has been made but we recognise that we can always do more to improve and strengthen our approach further. We are fully committed to working collectively with our students and staff to continue to tackle misconduct

University statement

In response to the investigation, Warwick SU told The Boar that they “would encourage any students who want to make a change to work with” them, adding that they are “working within Warwick SU and with the University to advocate for the safety of all our students, women and gender minorities especially.” 

They added: “We have consistently fought for the right to feel safe at Warwick, by running campaigns like Good Night Out, Safer Warwick, and the Safe Place programme with the Egalitarian project, and will continue to do so with our members who have been affected.” 

A spokesperson for the University also added that: “Progress has been made but we recognise that we can always do more to improve and strengthen our approach further. We are fully committed to working collectively with our students and staff to continue to tackle misconduct, raise awareness of the support on offer, and build confidence in reporting incidents”.  

Despite these collaborative efforts, many students remain dissatisfied – not only with the support they receive from the University, but also with the training programmes that it offers. While Warwick has introduced a range of initiatives, its attempts to support victims of sexual misconduct, and punish perpetrators, are clearly falling short of student expectations and needs.  

The number of responses to The Boar’s poll highlights that students have opinions regarding the University’s handling of sexual misconduct. It is their voices that must be at the centre of conversations regarding this issue. Only then will the gaps between policy, procedure, and lived experience begin to shrink.