Oxford professors accused of sexual harassment

Oxford is under the grip of a sexual harassment “epidemic” amid claims at least one professor pursued a student inappropriately. 

The complainant, who is in her twenties, is understood to have slept with a male professor several times before coming to the conclusion that he was a serial sexual predator.

The woman is one of about half a dozen students who have contacted the law firm McAllister Olivarius to complain about alleged inappropriate sexual behaviour at Oxford.

Ann Olivarius, a lawyer, told The Sunday Times she is representing the student in the proceedings. It is alleged that the student had sexual intercourse with a professor on a number of occasions before coming to see the relationship as sexual harassment.

“Harassment and even rape seem to exist at epidemic levels and people are not reporting it at Oxford. We have a case where a woman… was pitifully harassed by a guy who has slept with several students.

“There seem to be a number of academics who have done this. The men involved are all about 50 and not particularly attractive. This girl is young and beautiful.”

The university said it was “committed to a campus free of all forms of sexual harassment” and “is confident that it has . . . policies in place which support its commitment”.

However, campaigners are calling on the government to bring in American-style legislation under which universities such as Harvard and Yale have banned sexual relations between staff and students.

Ms Olivarius has called on the university to take steps to prevent professors from having sexual relationships with students. She said: “In the US it is considered off-limits for a professor to have a relationship with a student. Why does Oxford not put down such limits?”

American-born Olivarius said when she came to Oxford she was herself harassed by a professor who has since died.

“I went to Somerville College as a Rhodes scholar but was assigned a supervisor who I later found out from his wife was a serial sexual harasser, who felt it was acceptable to pursue and sleep with his female students,” claimed Olivarius, who asked to switch supervisors.

A number of Ivy League schools in the US prohibit sexual relationships between students and staff. Yale University banned such relationships in 2010, whilst Harvard University implemented a similar policy in February of this year.

A spokesperson for the university rejected Ms Olivarius’ allegation that sexual harassment is at “epidemic levels”. They told The Independent: “There is no evidence of a widespread problem of sexual harassment at Oxford University. The University always takes allegations about harassment extremely seriously when instances arise.

“However, using alarmist language to inflate the scale of the problem does not help those students who do need support in making complaints.”

They said that Oxford University staff are strongly advised against forming any close or intimate relationships with students and warned that such behaviour could result in disciplinary action. “The University is clear such relationships can create great difficulties through the power imbalance between the staff member and the student.”

Polly Lamming, a spokesperson for the No Means No campaign said: “We are attempting to tackle the issue of sexual harassment and assault on a uni-wide basis: it is easy to generalise, but it is important not to portray sexual assault as an issue that is exclusive to certain universities.

“In general, it is unhelpful to engage in finger pointing and demonising of specific universities despite the media pull. What is clear, from our own research and stories like these, is that what we are dealing with is a societal issue and it is an attitude that needs to change.”

“What is important is that there is a framework in place to support to students: without knowing the specific details of this particular case, we would like to make it very clear that from all the help we have received from NMN as well as listening to survivors stories within Oxford, Oxford is a university that is leading the way in providing a confidential and easily accessible support network for all students.”