Sexual Harassment and Assault Policy

Sexual Harassment and Assault Policy

The College will support and assist the victim of any sexual harassment or sexual misconduct. In the event of harassment and assault, please refer to the official documents and policies mentioned above (available on the college website). A few key points are highlighted below.

In an emergency or immediately following an assault

In College, the Porters’ Lodge will always be a safe place from where you can contact help and assistance. The Porter on duty will contact the Duty Tutor, provide useful telephone numbers, or summon assistance on your behalf.


After an assault who can you contact?

It can be difficult to talk about an assault to friends or family yet it is very important to have understanding and support. There are a number of different people you may choose to contact for support and advice. There is no single or correct route by which to seek support.

Within College the following people are available to support and advise you, in no particular order:

There are many practical things that the College can do to assist you and by contacting one of those listed above you will be able to access that help. They will also advise you on, and direct you to, any professional support and counselling services that you may need. Whoever you approach the matter will be treated sensitively and in confidence.

In addition, the Welfare Officers of ECSU and the MCR at Emmanuel College and the Welfare Officers at CUSU and the Graduate Union are people from whom you can seek help and advice.


What can the College do to support you?

No one should feel that they need to cope on their own, and talking to someone about harassment or an assault is important in and of itself. This is true whether you talk to someone soon after an incident has taken place or at some later date.

Whoever you decide to approach in College, they will direct you to, or provide, the following services, as appropriate to your needs:

As a part of Emmanuel College, the Middle Combination Room follows the college’s strict code of conduct on Harassment and Sexual Misconduct as listed below.


Resources on harassment can be found here:

College guidance on, and procedures for handling cases of, harassment or sexual misconduct (pdf.)

Further College documentation: Documents & Policies

The University’s Report+Support tool allows you to submit a complaint about harassment of any kind (anonymously or not) and request support.

MCR Information page on welfare and important contacts: Welfare in College


Emmanuel College Cambridge Code of Conduct for Students in respect of Harassment and Sexual Misconduct

Emmanuel College is committed to providing an environment that is free from discrimination and affirms the right of all members to be treated with dignity and respect. The College will not tolerate harassment of one member of its community by another nor sexual misconduct. The College will take allegations of harassment and sexual misconduct very seriously and may take action, including disciplinary action, in response to a complaint from a student. In line with the University, the College defines harassment as single or repeated incidents involving unwanted or unwarranted conduct towards another person which it is reasonable to think would have the effect of (i) violating that other’s dignity or (ii) creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment for that other.

Harassment may be verbal, psychological or physical, in person or via a virtual platform or through other methods of contact. Harassment may occur in the course of an academic, sporting, social, cultural or other activity either within the Precincts of the University or elsewhere in the context of a person’s membership of the University, or in circumstances where the victim of the harassment is a member, officer, or employee of the University or a College. Under this Code of Conduct unacceptable behaviour, whether intentional or not, can take a variety of different forms. The following descriptions are not exhaustive, but give an indication of the types of behaviour which the University and the College consider to be unacceptable:


Online harassment may take the form of intimidating, offensive or graphic posts on social media sites or chat rooms, or communications by email, text or instant messaging.

Sexual misconduct includes the following, whether or not within a sexual or romantic relationship, including where consent to some form of sexual activity has been given and then withdrawn, or if consent has been given on previous occasions: