Sexual Harassment – Report and Support

Definitions in the University Sexual Misconduct Policy and Sexual Misconduct Procedure are:

Sexual misconduct includes any unwanted conduct of a sexual nature that violates a person’s dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment. Definitions are aligned with the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and OfS guidance.

Consent means someone agrees by choice and has the freedom and capacity to make that choice.

Our policies apply to interactions between students, between staff, and between staff and students. The policies apply to on and off campus interactions as well as digital.

All new students will be asked to complete training on harassment and sexual misconduct when they enrol. Refresher training around our policies and procedures will be provided on an annual basis. Training is provided to all staff to ensure they can fully support students.

• Students, witnesses, or third parties can report misconduct to the Student Governance team via reporting@aecc.ac.uk
• Anonymous reporting is possible but may limit the University’s ability to act. Anonymous reports can be made here

Students can choose to report anonymously or to the Student Governance team using the email addresses below. All allegations will be handled respectively and in confidence, in line with our data protection procedures.

If students are unsure which route to take, they can request to speak to a trained advisor within the Student Services Team who will explain the options in confidence, offer support and assist with making an informed decision on next steps.

Trends in cases will be monitored and reported on an annual basis.

Student Services are available to support all students who have experienced sexual violence or misconduct. You can book an appointment in confidence and staff are trained to handle disclosures sensitively. Student Services can be contacted at StudentServices@aecc.ac.uk

Student Services also offer support for any student facing allegations and a named contact will be assigned in such instances.

The following policies detail how we investigate allegations of student harassment and sexual misconduct:

• The Sexual Misconduct Policy and Sexual Misconduct Procedure set out the University approach to addressing reports of sexual misconduct from students
• Prevention of sexual harassment and misconduct policy (Staff Policy)
• Staff and Students Relationship Policy (Staff Policy)

HSU take a zero tolerance policy on intimate personal relationships between students and staff due to the potential for abuse or power and potential conflict of interest. Our Staff and students relationship policy (Staff Policy) details this clearly. Should there be any a pre-existing relationship using the detailed process to ensure conflicts of interest are managed.

HSU are committed to ensuring all students have a good understanding of what sexual misconduct is, our sexual misconduct policy and reporting procedures. Update training will be delivered for all students.

From September 2025, all new students will be enrolled in the Brook online training modules for consent and bystander awareness training as part of the enrolment process.  We hope after completing this training all students will have good awareness and understanding and be able to act as an active bystander should they need to. Face to face training is also available through the autumn semester. This training programme will be reviewed and evaluated on an annual basis.

We have launched training for all staff covering sexual misconduct and harassment, and how to handle disclosures sensitively.

For staff likely to be involved in case work, further training around policies, procedures and carrying out an investigation will also be delivered.

Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA’s) in relation to student allegations of harassment and sexual misconduct have been prohibited for use in universities by the Office for Students since September 2024. HSU does not use Non-Disclosure agreements.