Student Harassment and Sexual Misconduct

Harassment and sexual misconduct are defined in MLA College’s Student Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Policy as follows:

“Harassment” is unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic which has the purpose or effect of violating an individual’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment as defined by the Equality Act 2010. This includes harassment by association or perception.

“Sexual Misconduct” relates to all unwanted conduct of a sexual nature. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Sexual harassment as defined by Section 26(2) Equality Act 2010.
• Assault as defined by the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
• Rape as defined by the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Physical unwanted sexual advances as set out by the Equality and Human Rights Commission: Sexual harassment and the law, 2017.
• Intimidation or promising resources or benefits in return for sexual favours as set out by the Equality and Human Rights Commission: Sexual harassment and the law, 2017.
• Distributing private and personal explicit images or video footage of an individual without their consent as defined by the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015.

See our SafeSpace Zone for further information on What are Bullying and Harassment? and What is Sexual Misconduct?

MLA College provides its SafeSpace Zone, which students and staff can use to disclose bullying, discrimination, harassment, hate crime and sexual misconduct . You can disclose anonymously or ask to speak to an advisor to get information on reporting options and support available so that you can make an informed decision on what happens next.

The Student Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Policy sets out other options which students and staff have for disclosing concerns if they don’t want to use the SafeSpace Zone, including contacting the relevant department for action to be taken under the appropriate MLA College policy. We would however encourage students and staff to consider using the SafeSpace Zone in the first instance so that they can access support from one of our advisors.

Students and staff can disclose how they have been affected by harassment and sexual misconduct using MLA College’s SafeSpace Zone. You can choose to do this anonymously or you can request support from an advisor. If you choose to speak to an advisor, they will be able to talk through the reporting options and support available to you, in confidence.

A range of support is available within and outside the College for students and staff who have experienced harassment and sexual misconduct. Further information about support options is available in our SafeSpace Zone:

• What support is available if I have been bullied or harassed?
• What support is available if I have experienced sexual misconduct?

Students facing allegations: as indicated in the Student Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Policy, students facing allegations will be provided with a named staff member who they can contact for support. Support is also available from the Student Experience Team. The SafeSpace Zone also includes information for students accused of misconduct.

The following policies are relevant to how we investigate allegations of student harassment and sexual misconduct:

The Student Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Policy defines what harassment and sexual misconduct are and sets out the University’s approach to preventing and addressing harassment and sexual misconduct.

In terms of how incidents are investigated, the Student Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Policy specifies that:

• Our validating partners Student Disciplinary Procedure will be used to investigate allegations of harassment and sexual misconduct against students.
• The Staff Disciplinary Policy will be used to investigate allegations of harassment and sexual misconduct made by students against staff.

Ensuring confidentiality is a key principle in creating a culture where those affected feel safe to make a disclosure about harassment and sexual misconduct.

The University will take all reasonable steps to protect the confidentiality and privacy of those who disclose harassment and sexual misconduct. However, there may be circumstances (e.g. in order to protect an individual at risk) where we are required to share information with other agencies or to share information internally. Further details about confidentiality and information sharing are provided in the Student Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Policy, the Student Confidentiality Policy and the FAQs for the SafeSpace Zone.

In accordance with our validating partner’s Student Disciplinary Procedure, where it is reasonable and practicable to do so in accordance with its duties and obligations under data protection legislation, MLA College will provide the student that has raised an allegation of harassment or sexual misconduct with an outcome of the investigation and/or an explanation of any actions that the College has taken, or not taken. This includes where the outcome is changed for any reason. However, it may only be possible for the College to provide limited information depending on the circumstances.

The Vice-Rector (Professional Services), or another member of the College Executive Group if appropriate, will ensure effective co-ordination over allegations by students against staff which are considered under the staff Disciplinary Policy and Procedure.

This includes:

• Ensuring that sufficient information is provided to enable student expectations to be managed effectively and to provide the student who has made the allegation with progress updates;
• Ensuring that once the investigation is concluded, appropriate information regarding the outcome and next steps is provided to ensure information is shared with the student such as it is possible for the College to provide in accordance with its duties and obligations under data protection law.  HR will ensure that the information for sharing with the student is of the equivalent level of detail that would be provided to a staff member if they raised a grievance or allegation under the relevant HR procedure.

We’re committed to ensuring that students understand what harassment and sexual misconduct is, how to report it, the support available to them, what consent is and how to intervene effectively.

• From 1^st August 2025, all active students will be required to complete a mandatory online course developed specifically to ensure compliance with the latest Office for Students conditions of registration. After completing it, we hope students will be confident making a stand against sexual harassment and advocating for others, be an active bystander, understand what does and doesn’t count as consent, and be able to dispel myths about sexual assault. Those who complete the course are invited to fill in a survey to help us evaluate and improve it.
• Students will also be provided the option to complete the training again on annual basis, should they wish, however this will not be mandatory.
• The MLA College Student Experience Team will also provide additional online sessions for students to further discuss the topics discussed within the online training. These will be programmed to ensure there are sessions available for all students at a reasonable time of day, regardless of their global location.

• All MLA College staff will also be required to complete the training provided to students to ensure they are also confident in making a stand against sexual harassment and advocating for others, be an active bystander, understand what does and doesn’t count as consent, and be able to dispel myths about sexual assault,
• Staff will also be directed to this page and supporting documentation through regular internal communications and during staff meetings.
• Staff involved in specialist roles (such as Student Experience Team will receive additional training appropriate and relevant to their roles.

We are committed to taking steps that will make a significant and credible difference to protecting students from harassment and sexual misconduct. These include:

• Analysing and publishing data on use of our SafeSpace Zone. MLA College will produce annual reports covering student disclosures.
• Building feedback surveys into our online training for students and staff, evaluating the results and making changes to the training where appropriate.
• Consulting with Student Representatives on changes to our student policies on harassment and sexual misconduct. Students are represented on the committees where these policies are approved.

Since September 2024 the Office for Students has prohibited Higher Education providers from using NDAs in relation to student allegations of harassment and sexual misconduct.