Fighting sexual harassment in the workplace

It’s not only high-profile celebrity cases that demand our attention.

DR JO CLOSE urges closer scrutiny of sexual misconduct in all walks of life, including higher education

The sentencing of comedian Russell Brand for counts of sexual assault and rape has understandably been making headline news. And now there are allegations that celebrity David Walliams has been grooming teenage girls and having sexual relations with young women, some of whom were under the age of consent when he first began communicating with them.

Following an investigation by ITV news and The Guardian, which Walliams attempted to keep under wraps by securing an injunction to prevent him from being named, the children’s author is now headline news along with rumours of more revelations.

Brave whistle blowers

Lucy Beaumont - Hull comedian and author of Drinking Custard: Diary of a Confused Mum - revealed in an interview with Sky News that she was a whistle blower, reaching out to The Guardian three years ago when she had been told by a runner that, while working on Britain’s Got Talent, he had the role of taking girls and young women to Walliams’s dressing room. Beaumont had also heard other rumours about Walliams’s conduct from other sources. She claimed that, with the lack of a HR department in the TV industry, it is difficult to know where to turn when hearing such disturbing stories. But she was concerned about the safety of these vulnerable young women and felt she had to take action somehow.

Sexual misconduct in HE

High-profile cases such as this are receiving a lot of attention, but this does not, of course, mean that sexual misconduct and harassment is limited to the world of celebrities. In fact, in 2023 the Higher Education regulator, Office for Students, conducted a pilot study in twelve institutions, on sexual misconduct faced by students in the HE sector. This was then followed by the 2025 sexual misconduct survey, a series of questions asked at the end of the National Student Survey, available to all final-year undergraduate students, which will be repeated again in 2027. The 2025 results showed that:

• Nearly a quarter of final-year undergraduates have experienced sexual harassment since beginning their studies.

• One in seven have experienced sexual assault or violence.

• Women were nearly three times more likely to experience sexual harassment than men. They were also more than twice as likely to experience sexual assault or violence.

• Nearly half of lesbian, gay, or bisexual students experienced sexual harassment, compared with 21.7 per cent of heterosexual students. They were also more likely to have experienced sexual assault or violence.  

• Younger people and disabled students also reported significantly higher rates of sexual harassment and sexual assault or violence.

• Over half of respondents who experienced sexual harassment in the last 12 months said that the incident(s) involved someone connected to their university or college. A third reported that the identity of the perpetrator(s) was a fellow student.

(OfS, 2025 Sexual Misconduct Survey)

But what will become of the findings and what action will be taken as a result? According to the OfS: Tackling sexual misconduct in higher education is of high importance to the OfS and students. Findings from the 2027 sexual misconduct survey will help us build a national picture of students’ experiences of sexual misconduct. It will also support ongoing efforts by higher education providers to improve student safety and wellbeing.

Abuse of power

Reports on Brand and Walliams point out how they abused their positions of power, and this is what the OfS surveys highlight as problematic in the HE sector. If half of the respondents reporting sexual harassment in the 2025 survey said that the incident(s) involved someone connected to their university or college and a third of those reported that the perpetrator was a fellow student, this can only mean that a proportion of the perpetrators are university staff. Staff who are abusing their positions of power.

Working in the HE sector, I would hope that students who are experiencing sexual harassment in their university environment, wouldn’t wait until this survey to disclose their experiences. Rather, I would encourage them to seek out the appropriate means of reporting such offences or speak to a member of staff.

Consider reporting your concerns

Here at the University of Chester, any students can report via the Report a Concern webpage. Equally, if a member of staff has concerns about a colleague’s behaviour towards students, they can use the form.

Speaking out isn’t always easy, especially if it affects you first-hand as the victims of Russell Brand and other high profile abusers have found, but everyone deserves to work and study in a safe space.

Written by DR JO CLOSE, Senior Lecturer in English Language, University of Chester, UK