When a student reports that they have been subjected to rape, this may be to a member of the University community such as the Security team, a warden, or directly through the Online Incident Reporting Portal.
On receiving a disclosure, a member of the Duty, Assessment and Inclusivity (DAI) team triages and contacts the student to offer practical advice and emotional support; this will differ depending on individual needs. Whatever the circumstances, please be ensured the team will treat you with dignity and respect.
Should the incident have happened within the last seven days, the team will talk through some of the immediate concerns you may have. This could be your safety, or your physical or mental wellbeing. The team will run through options including the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC), where you may choose to self-refer for advice from a member of their team and wish to have a forensic medical to preserve evidence. You may wish to contact the police immediately or at a later date.
If the incident happened over seven days ago, an adviser would talk through options available to you and support available.
You may wish to report to the University’s Security team so that disciplinary action can be taken. The DAI team will facilitate this on your behalf, and a member of the Security team will contact you. An investigator will explain all of the options available to you again, and if you wish to proceed, a statement will be taken from you regarding the incident. It may be necessary to speak to others that were witnesses to what happened. The evidence is then considered by the University’s Chief Operating Officer who determines whether to convene a Student Disciplinary panel.
In the 2019/20 academic year, the University terminated the studies of two students where the complaint was upheld. Other outcomes have included restricting access to particular areas of campus, exclusion from the entire campus, and exclusion from Hall accommodation.
You may choose to only access emotional and practical support from a DAI adviser. Whatever your decision is, a member of the DAI team will support you. This support may include grounding techniques to help manage symptoms of trauma, receiving advice about coping with sleep difficulties or help to develop skills to address difficulties with memory. Your adviser can also liaise with your academic Department and in certain circumstances, the team will be able to submit mitigating circumstances on your behalf as well. They will also consider what ongoing and long-term support you may need, and what external services could help you with this.
Examples of external support services include:
More information about incident reporting at the University can be found on the dedicated webpage. Further information on the support available if you have been subject to sexual violence, domestic violence and/or stalking can be found here.