If you feel you are being harassed, bullied, or discriminated against - or if you think you have observed such behaviour taking place - you have a number of options. These range from reporting serious incidents such as rape, sexual assault or physical assault to the police, to talking to the individual yourself. If you do not want to name an individual about whom you have concerns, the options for addressing the situation will be limited. However, the School will still be able to provide you with personal support and to advise on what options are available.
We recommend that you make a note of any incidents, including dates and times. Taking photos or screenshots of offensive written or visual materials can also be helpful.
The sooner the unwelcome behaviour is raised, the less chance there is that it will become habitual or will escalate.
The School will normally resolve allegations of harassment, bullying or discrimination under its Disciplinary Procedure for Students or its additional Anti-Harassment Procedure to deal with allegations of harassment by a student against a member of staff. For staff, allegations will be resolved under the School's discrimination, harassment, bullying and sexual violence policies. All procedures make provision for a case to be resolved either informally or formally. The approach will depend on various issues as your wishes as a complainant and the circumstances in question.
The School and the Students’ Union have members of staff who can help you decide what to do, advise you on what would happen next and explain how you can be supported. Learn more about the various support options available to you here.
Informal Approaches and Outcomes
You might feel confident enough to tell the offender that their behaviour is not acceptable to you. Sometimes this will prompt them to think about their actions and change their behaviour.
This approach will not always be appropriate because it can be difficult to confront someone, particularly if they are in a position of authority or are socially dominant. Students may want to seek an informal resolution under the School’s Disciplinary Procedure for Students. The Dean (or another appropriate nominee) can act on your behalf to find a mutually agreed outcome. If the incident is very serious, you or (s)he may decide to refer the case to the formal stage and / or notify the police.
Taking the informal approach first does not rule out using the formal procedure at a later date if informal agreement cannot be reached or if the terms of an agreement have not been followed.
Outcomes will vary from case to case, but here are some examples of actions which have been agreed to:
- apologising and showing a genuine insight into why the behaviour was not acceptable to the complainant
- making no further contact with the complainant, either in person, in writing or via mobile communications / social media
- moving out from shared accommodation, whether that is a hall of residence or private accommodation
- attending training or guidance sessions (possibly including counselling) to reflect on and gain a better understanding of the effect their behaviour had on others
- staying away from specified on- or off-campus communal/social spaces for a specified period of time
Making a Formal Complaint
Taking the formal route may be more appropriate in serious cases or when attempts at informal resolution have failed. The School has slightly different procedures for managing complaints against students and staff, but we can advise you on which to use and how to make your complaint. Formal complaints against a student are investigated by a member of staff who has not had prior involvement in the case or in any other case that involved the same individuals.
A similar arrangement applies to an allegation against a member of staff, though a small team consisting of a Students’ Union member and two members of staff (one of whom may be a trade union member) will conduct an investigation.
Staff can instigate a formal complaint under the Grievance Policy and Procedure for Academic Support Staff, or by making a complaint in writing to Human Resources.
As with informal resolutions, outcomes will vary. They may range from the types of agreement more usually made at the informal stage to warnings placed on record to suspension, expulsion or staff disciplinary action.
Serious incidents: rape, sexual assault or physical assault
If you are assaulted on School premises, you are advised to:
- report the incident to a member of Security or, if the assault took place in a hall of residence, the hall Warden or their nominee
- report the incident to the police
- notify one of our LSE Contacts (below) who can help you get personal support
There is no rule about how soon after an incident you should report a crime to the police. However, an investigation will usually benefit from a report soon after the event. The police have specialist staff to look after victims of serious crime and there are a number of organisations, such as Rape Crisis and Survivors UK which can also support you.