The 1752 Group

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The 1752 Group
Formation2016
Websitehttps://1752group.com/

The 1752 Group is a UK-based research and lobby organisation working to end sexual misconduct in higher education.

History[edit]

The Sexual Harassment in Higher Education (SHHE) Conference, the first UK university conference on staff-to-student sexual harassment, was held at Goldsmiths in December 2015.[1] The conference prompted the organisers, who had spent £1752 on the event, to create a national organisation to identify and address the sexual misconduct of staff within UK universities.[2] The 1752 Group was established in 2016. The Guardian newspaper have been strong supporters of the group.[3][4][5][6]

Key people[edit]

The 1752 Group was co-founded by several academics with experience in student unions, organisational change, consultancy and grassroots activism. These include:[2]

Members of the 1752 Group have given several interviews discussing their priorities.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13] Speaking to the LSE, Dr Page emphasised the need to research and action "it's critical to situate this as being about equal access to education, which comes under the Equality Act 2010 and under institutional responsibilities. Universities need to safeguard and protect their students, but also ensure that they have equal access to resources. Staff sexual misconduct can lead to students interrupting or dropping out of their studies, or having to avoid any situation where they have to be in the same space as that staff member, which affects their studies and access in multiple ways".[9][14] Dr Anna Bull is running a HEFCE funded project examining university policies, involving focus groups who have experienced staff sexual misconduct.[15]

In 2020, the 1752 Group and Ann Olivarius's law firm, McAllister Olivarius, released a report, "Sector Guidance to Address Staff Sexual Misconduct in UK Higher Education."

Research[edit]

Sexual misconduct by academic staff is under-researched worldwide, and was last researched in the UK in 1998.[16] The 1752 Group are committed to developing research on sexual misconduct in higher education, and implementing UK-wide policy to protect students.[17] Their strategic priorities include:[18]

  • Implementing a national code of conduct that clarifies professional boundaries
  • Develop a reporting process for sexual misconduct
  • Establish an independent national office for sexual misconduct advocacy and support
  • Ensure all institutions record data and make publicly available reports on all allegations
  • Address the long-term impact of staff sexual misconduct on those who experience it
  • Implement comprehensive sector-wide and institution-level cultural change

In 2011, the NUS' Women's Campaign published Hidden Marks, which found "students who had been subjected to a less serious sexual assault were least likely (< 2 %) to report either to the police or to the institution".[19] The 1752 Group partnered with the National Union of Students to launch the first UK survey into staff sexual misconduct in higher education.[20] The report was published in April 2018.[21] It found that a third of universities have no policy on staff-student relationships, and as a result, less than 10% of students who experienced sexual harassment report the behaviour to their institutions.[22][23]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Sexual Harassment in Higher Education (SHHE) Conference". Sexual Harassment in Higher Education (SHHE). Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b "About Us". The 1752 Group. 13 July 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  3. ^ Bannock, Caroline; Weale, Sally; Batty, David (5 March 2017). "Sexual harassment 'at epidemic levels' in UK universities". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  4. ^ "NUS to investigate sexual harassment at universities". The Guardian. The Press Association. 17 November 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  5. ^ Jobbins, David (30 August 2016). "UK universities turn "blind eye" to sex harassment – claim". The Complete University Guide. Archived from the original on 22 January 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  6. ^ Weale, Sally (8 December 2017). "How one UK university confronted its sexual harassment problem". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  7. ^ TRT World (4 November 2017). "Harassment Scandal: Dr Anna Bull Joins the discussion". YouTube. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  8. ^ "Women's Classical Committee". WCC-UK. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  9. ^ a b "Ending sexual misconduct in UK universities and protecting students". London School of Economics. 6 November 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  10. ^ "More universities must confront sexual harassment". Nature. 547 (7664): 379. 26 July 2017. Bibcode:2017Natur.547Q.379.. doi:10.1038/547379a. PMID 28748954.
  11. ^ Fyles, Fred S. (24 November 2017). "National Union of Students launch survey into sexual misconduct at UK universities". Felix Online. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  12. ^ "Nature Suggests UK Follow US Lead on Academic Sexual Harassment. Please Don't". Edge for Scholars. 3 August 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  13. ^ Tesh, Sarah (28 July 2017). "Bias, stereotyping and harassment: what women battle". PhysicsWorld.com. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  14. ^ "Report It. Stop It: how can reports of sexual harassment and sexual violence change the culture - Public lectures and events". London School of Economics. 16 October 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  15. ^ "University wins funding to tackle sexual harassment". University of Portsmouth News. 15 March 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  16. ^ Olivarius, Ann (21 October 2016). "Why do we forget that university staff also harass students?". Medium. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  17. ^ "The 1752 Group". The 1752 Group. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  18. ^ "Strategic priorities for higher education". The 1752 Group. 24 February 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  19. ^ "Hidden Marks: A study of women students' experiences of harassment, stalking, violence and sexual assault" (PDF). National Union of Students. 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  20. ^ "National Union of Students and The 1752 Group announce action into staff-student sexual misconduct in higher education". NUS. 7 March 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  21. ^ "NUS staff-student sexual misconduct report @ NUS connect". nusconnect.org.uk. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  22. ^ Bull, Anna; Page, Tiffany (4 April 2018). "Universities can no longer turn a blind eye to staff dating students". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  23. ^ Woolcock, Nicola (4 April 2018). "Academics are worst culprits, say students in sex harassment survey". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
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