This webpage summarises London South East Colleges' policies and procedures on student harassment and sexual misconduct, including intimate personal relationships between staff members and students.
This webpage is the 'single comprehensive source of information' required by the Office for Students (OfS registration condition E6).
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What is harassment and sexual misconduct?
Harassment and sexual misconduct are defined in the College’s Sexual Violence and Harassment Policy and the Anti-Bullying and Harassment Policy.
Harassment may be directed at an individual or a group. Under the Equality Act 2010, harassment is defined as “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 for that individual.
Sexual misconduct is any unwanted or attempted unwanted conduct of a sexual nature. This includes, but is not limited to:
- sexual harassment
- sexual assault
- Sexual harassment
When referring to sexual harassment, we mean ‘unwanted conduct of a sexual nature’ that can occur online and offline. Sexual harassment is likely to: violate a person’s dignity, and/or make them feel intimidated, degraded or humiliated and/or create a hostile, offensive or sexualised environment.
Whilst not intended to be an exhaustive list, sexual harassment can include:
- Sexual comments, such as telling sexual stories, making lewd comments, making sexual remarks about clothes and appearance and calling someone sexualised names
- Sexual “jokes” or taunting
- Physical behaviour, such as deliberately brushing against someone, interfering with someone’s clothes (staff should be considering when any of this crosses a line into sexual violence - it is important to talk to and consider the experience of the victim) and displaying pictures, photos or drawings of a sexual nature
- Online sexual harassment, which might include:
- non-consensual sharing of sexual images and videos (both often referred to as sexting)
- sexualised online bullying
- unwanted/inappropriate sexual comments and messages, including on social media
- sexual exploitation, coercion and threats
- Online sexual harassment may be standalone, or part of a wider pattern of sexual harassment and/or sexual violence
Consent
Consent is about having the freedom and capacity (age and understanding) to make a choice. Consent to sexual activity may be given to one sort of sexual activity but not another. Consent can be withdrawn at any time during sexual activity and each time activity occurs.
Please note:
- The age of consent is 16
- A child under the age of 13 can never consent to any sexual activity
- Sexual intercourse without consent is rape
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Reporting concerns
At London South East Colleges, we are committed to providing a safe and respectful environment for all students and staff. If you have experienced harassment, bullying, or sexual misconduct, you can disclose this online using our Whisper portal or by texting LSE1 and your message to 07860 021 323
You can choose to report anonymously or request to speak with a member of staff from the safeguarding and/or wellbeing team. If you decide to talk to someone, a trained member of staff will offer confidential advice, discuss your options with you, and help you access the appropriate support. Email:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Our Safeguarding team will provide specialist and sensitive support to those who need it. -
Support for those affected
A wide range of internal and external support is available for anyone affected by bullying, harassment, or sexual misconduct. This includes:
- Confidential support from trained advisors through
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - Wellbeing services available to all students
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - External agencies – the safeguarding team will identify relevant and local external agencies that can support you.
If You Have Experienced Sexual Misconduct
If you have experienced sexual misconduct, we encourage you to seek support from the safeguarding team on your campus. If you wish to disclose anonymously, please use the Whisper reporting tool. The safeguarding team can guide you through your reporting options and ensure you are aware of the resources and protections in place.
Support for Students Facing Allegations
As outlined in the Sexual Violence and Harassment Policy, students facing allegations will be provided with a named contact for support. Additional support is available from:
- The Student Wellbeing and Safeguarding Team
- A mentor may be provided to guide them through the next steps and identify any external agencies that may offer additional support.
- Confidential support from trained advisors through
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How we Investigate
The following policies outline how we manage and investigate allegations:
- The Sexual Violence and Harassment Policy, Anti Bullying and Harassment Policy and the Relationships and Positive Behaviours Policy define key terms and outline how the College responds to reports of harassment or sexual violence.
- Allegations involving students are investigated under the Student Disciplinary Procedure, which ensures a fair and structured process.
- Allegations involving staff are investigated under the Staff Disciplinary Policy and Procedure.
Both disciplinary procedures include clear details on investigation steps, timescales, possible outcomes, and appeal rights.
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Confidentiality and information sharing
At London South East Colleges, we are committed to fostering a culture in which individuals feel safe and supported when disclosing experiences of harassment or sexual misconduct. A key part of this commitment is ensuring the confidentiality and privacy of those who come forward.
The College will take all reasonable steps to protect the confidentiality of anyone making a disclosure. However, in certain circumstances, such as when there is a risk to an individual’s safety, we may be required to share information internally or with external agencies, especially where a crime may have been committed.
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Informing individuals
Where it is reasonable and practicable to do so in accordance with its duties and obligations under data protection legislation, the College will provide the student who 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.
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Relationships between staff and students
Staff and student intimate personal relationships are considered an abuse of power and are forbidden under our existing HR policies and staff code of conduct. All pre-existing relationships must be disclosed in accordance with our HR policies.
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Training for students
Promoting Safe, Respectful Relationships at College
We are committed to fostering a safe and respectful learning environment for all students and staff. A key part of this is ensuring everyone understands what harassment and sexual misconduct are, how to report concerns, what consent means, and how to intervene effectively to support others.
Student Training:
From September 2025, all students are required to complete a mandatory online course. This interactive course covers:
- Understanding sexual consent
- Recognising and challenging rape culture and misogyny
- Becoming an active bystander against sexual violence and harassment
- Dispelling common myths about sexual assault
- A brief overview of the law on sexual offences in England and Wales
- Sources of support and guidance
The course includes two short quizzes on consent and bystander intervention that students must pass to complete the course. Students are also invited to provide anonymous feedback through a survey to help us continuously improve the training.
During student induction, we signpost this training, college policies and support mechanisms to complement the online course, covering healthy relationships and how to disclose incidents through our Safeguarding service or Whisper portal.
Throughout the year, our Safeguarding team runs campaigns through our University Centre Newsletter and short interactive training sessions to raise awareness of consent and how to apply it in real-life situations. These sessions aim to help students understand what consent looks and sounds like – and what it doesn’t – building confidence to speak up, support others, and stand against sexual harassment.
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Training and support for staff
We are currently developing a dedicated online training course for staff working with HE students. This will be piloted in Summer 2025 and is planned to become mandatory for all staff working with HE students in the 2025/26 academic year. Face-to-face sessions will also be available through the College's CPD sessions.
Staff in specialist roles, such as Safeguarding Officers, Wellbeing Officers, and those involved in case investigations, will receive additional training tailored to their responsibilities, ensuring they are equipped to handle disclosures sensitively and appropriately. This is complemented by appropriate supervision for their role.
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Our commitment
At London South East Colleges, we are committed to transparency, safety, and supporting individuals who come forward with concerns. In line with this commitment, we do not use non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in relation to complaints of sexual harassment and sexual misconduct.
Additionally, since September 2024, the Office for Students has formally prohibited universities and colleges from using NDAs in relation to student allegations of harassment and sexual misconduct.
We fully support this position. Our focus is on ensuring all students and staff feel safe to speak out, access support, and be heard without fear of being silenced.
