Jesus College apologises for ‘evident distress’ caused by harassment reporting policy

Senior Tutor for Jesus College, Dr Geoff Parks, sent out an email to Jesus College students today apologising for the “evident distress” that has been caused by the college’s guidance on harassment and abuse allegations, which said that students reporting cases of harassment or abuse could themselves be investigated for breaking Covid rules if the incident took place at a “non-Covid-19-regulation-compliant event”.

The email also said that the college will be “reviewing these guidelines and seeking advice from experts in sexual abuse support” as well as “arranging meetings between College Officers and student representatives for next week to address the concerns raised and our next steps.”

The Senior Tutor began his email by saying that the college was aware of the “depth of feeling” towards the controversial policy “from the open letters and emails from your student union representatives.” One open letter written in protest of the college’s guidelines currently has over 1,200 signatures.

Students expressed their outrage at the policy on social media (Image credit: Camfess)

He went on to say: “We don’t always get things right the first time.”

The email concludes by stressing: “Our primary concern is always for the safety and welfare of you all. We continue to prioritise the needs of students who have been the victims of harassment or abuse.

“We will always encourage students to come forward and use our extensive welfare support, and will continue to urgently investigate these matters where reporting students want us to.”

Featured image credits: Rodhullandemu, Creative Commons License