TW: The following content discusses sexual violence.
Last year, the Union teamed up with ICUsToo (Imperial’s campaign group against sexual violence) on an unprecedented project at Imperial: to create an anonymous survey which gauges the prevalence of sexual misconduct at Imperial, the degree to which students feel able to access support, and the situations in which it occurs most often. Over a period of 1 month over the summer of 2021, we gained over 600 responses. The perspective that they shared was heart-wrenching but not altogether surprising.
The Survey
The survey was divided into two sections, inquiring about personal experiences and perceptions of sexual harassment and sexual violence. The definitions were worded very carefully by members of ICUsToo, in order to ensure that they adhered to the legal definitions in the Equality Act 2010 and the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Each section asked questions around the following areas:
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Where do you perceive it (sexual harassment or violence) to occur most often?
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Has it happened to you, personally? If so, where and by whom?
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Have you ever sought access to support services at Imperial? If so, how helpful were they?
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What more can the College and the Union do to help?
In order to ensure that respondents were able to disclose their experiences to the degree in which they felt comfortable, every question was completely optional, including the demographics questions at the very end.
The Results
I will save reading about the detailed scientific analysis and recommendations for the actual report, which I have linked below. For now, I will just make a quick mention of a few key highlights:
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30.8% of respondents reported having personally experienced sexual harassment. Of these respondents, 84.2% were women.
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15.0% of respondents reported having personally experienced sexual violence. Of these respondents, 87.5% were women.
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Students with disabilities are more likely than able-bodied students to experience both sexual harassment and sexual violence.
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Union bars, off-campus socials and halls of residence are the top three venues in which sexual misconduct takes place.
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Only 18.7% of survivors sought the help of support services at Imperial College. The most named reason for not seeking support is that they did not think that any action would be taken.
Next Steps
Now that we have a much-needed understanding of where the problem areas are, the Union will take steps to action the recommendations which are outlined in the report. This will involve liaising with the College on their communications, working with Student Services to improve the accessibility and visibility of support services, and taking part in a full review of the College’s Student Disciplinary Procedures. We need to work together to ensure that survivors feel heard and supported and create a culture of respect for consent.