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Short, Emma and Barnes, James (2023) Stalking in universities: responding effectively as an institution while prioritising the safety of victims. In: Cyberbullying and Online Harms Preventions and Interventions from Community to Campus. Routledge: Taylor and Francis Group, London (UK), pp. 117-128. ISBN 9781003258605
Young people between the ages of 21-25 year make up 66% of University students (OfS, 2022) and it is this group of people who are likely to be a most risk of sexual harassment and violent crime. The prevalence of stalking victimisation is also likely to be elevated. Indeed, an FOI request made to universities by the Unfollow me campaign, revealed that 381 students had made allegations of stalking or domestic abuse between 2015 and 2018. In 40% of those cases the person who was accused of stalking and the person making the allegation studied at the same university (Vice 2019).
The Statement of Expectations published by the Office for Students calls for the implementation of more effective systems, policies and processes to prevent and respond to incidents of harassment and sexual misconduct, stalking is included under this definition (OfS 2021). Access to appropriate and effective support is a key principle in this statement. The necessity of adopting existing UUK guidelines to create a culture where such behaviours are highlighted as high risk and associated preventative education is also evident.
This chapter provides a context for the legislation and will additionally focus on academic institutions' legal duties in prevention, identification and responding effectively to online harassment and stalking and the barriers to enacting legislation.
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives 4.0.
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