Russell Group head hits out at Guardian for saying they don’t take rape seriously
Less than half of Russell Group unis record all sexual assault allegations
Josh KaplanThe chief exec of the Russell Group has lambasted The Guardian over an investigation which implied that elite unis don’t care about rape victims.
Writing in a letter on The Guardian, Dr. Wendy Piatt said: “suggesting ‘elite universities’ are not taking sexual assault victims seriously does not at all reflect the attitude and efforts of Russell Group universities.”
Dr. Wendy has been boss of the group since 2007
She went on to defend the track record of Russell Group unis saying: “Our institutions take the issue of any kind of harassment, abuse or violence against students extremely seriously indeed.
“They have robust policies and procedures in place to deal with these matters, which are a key part of their responsibility to ensure safety and wellbeing.”
A Guardian investigation in May found fewer than half of Britain’s elite unis were monitoring the extent of sexual violence on their campuses, and one in six said they did not have specific guidelines for students on how to report allegations of rape or sexual assault.
Liverpool were one of the unis that admitted they did not have procedures in place
Liverpool, Cardiff and Manchester universities and King’s College London told the lefty paper they did not have such procedures in place.
Bigwig Dr. Wendy also said: “Russell Group universities invest heavily in pastoral services so students have access to the support they need.
“Our institutions also work with a range of agencies and professional bodies so a network of services is in place for all students.
The report which appeared in the Guardian earlier this week, found that Home Office figures show that just over 15 per cent of sexual assault victims report their attack to police and only a fraction of allegations make it to prosecution.