Leeds Uni has fired two staff members over student sexual assault in the past five years

The University of Leeds has sacked two members of staff in connection with sexual assaults on students over the course of the last five years, The Leeds Tab can reveal.

During the same time period, two more staff members were disciplined and one resigned in connection with reports of sexual assault.

In total, there have been five instances of sexual assault committed by staff members against students in since the academic year 2015/16, with two occurring in the year 2019/20 alone.

The average time it took to resolve cases was 11.2 months with the longest case lasting as long as 22 months.

A University of Leeds spokesperson said: “The University has a zero-tolerance approach to sexual assault.  The safety of our students is our top priority and we offer support and advice through our reporting procedure.

“We work closely with Leeds University Union to constantly monitor and review our approaches.”

Sophia Harley, Welfare Officer at Leeds University Union said: “At LUU we condemn any type of sexual violence against students. Every student at the University of Leeds has the human right to feel safe whenever they are on campus.

“As Welfare Officer at LUU, tackling sexual violence is a top priority for me. As such, I have been working hard in partnership university to create a culture change surrounding sexual violence on campus including: the proposal of specialist staff, updated sexual misconduct policies, meaningful preventative measures, and enhanced support for our victim-survivors.

“We need to create a culture where reporting these incidences is the norm and students are supported throughout the process.”

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