30 September 2025

Survey Showed Thousands Report Sexual Harassments

UK Students
Thousands of students have reported being victims of sexual violence and harassment in the first sector-wide survey of sexual misconduct at universities in England.

The Office for Students (OfS) said 14 percent of students responding to its survey reported being victims of sexual violence - which included rape, attempted rape and unwanted touching.

One in four students who responded reported experiencing sexual harassment.

And 1.5 percent of respondents reported having been in an intimate relationship with a staff member.

Women and lesbian, gay and bisexual students were more likely to have experienced both sexual violence and harassment than their male and straight peers, the survey suggests.

All final year undergraduate students in England were asked to fill out the survey, with 52,000 responding.

It is the first nationwide study of its kind, one which campaigners say they have been calling for since 2010.

The survey by the OfS, England's higher education regulator, asked respondents for their experiences of:

  • Sexual harassment (for example, unwanted sexually suggestive comments, exposure or unsolicited pictures)
  • Sexual violence (for example, unwanted touching, attempted rape and rape)
  • Intimate student and staff relationships
Students were also asked about whether they reported incidents to the university, and whether the support they received was good or poor.

Women were nearly three times more likely to experience sexual harassment than men, and more than twice as likely to experience sexual assault, the OfS said.

Nearly half - 47 percent - of lesbian, gay and bisexual students reported sexual harassment, compared to 22 percent of heterosexual students.

A spokesperson for Universities UK, which represents over 140 institutions, said universities were "determined to tackle sexual harassment", adding that "this powerful data puts universities in a stronger position to prevent assault and harassment, support students and improve reporting".