The University is committed to providing an environment that is free from discrimination and affirms the rights of all of its members to be treated with dignity and respect. The University will not tolerate harassment of one member of its community by another nor sexual misconduct. The University takes allegations of harassment and sexual misconduct very seriously and may take action, including disciplinary action, in response to a complaint from a student.
In addition to the University's Student Discipline Procedure, the University has an Informal Complaint Procedure for Student Misconduct.
The Informal Complaint Procedure for Student Misconduct is different to other procedures: its purpose is to facilitate an agreement between two students to limit any interactions between them. This agreement is requested by the reporting student following a matter of sexual misconduct, physical misconduct or abusive behaviour. This Procedure gives more control to the Reporting Student, any involvement is not recorded on a student's University record; and there are no penalties can be forced upon the respondent student. Students can also be involved in this procedure without needing to inform anyone else in the University. Alternatively, students can report a matter trough the University Student Discipline Procedure for formal investigation and sanctions and measures to be imposed.
As well as taking action following inappropriate behaviour between students, the University also has policies regarding any form of inappropriate behaviour taking place between students and staff. Students should submit a complaint in accordance with the information on the reporting webpage. Staff conduct investigations are handled by HR, but the support and communications to students are handled by OSCCA. In addition to the reporting procedure, the University also has Guidance on Personal Relationships between Students and Staff.
Any student who has been affected by any form of sexual violence, either before or during their time at University can seek support without any pressure to report from the Sexual Assault and Harassment Advisor.
Any questions about the procedures and associated policies should be directed to the Office of Student Conduct, Complaints and Appeals (OSCCA) at OSCCA@admin.cam.ac.uk.