UK university leaders are still wary of tackling racism and sexism on campus because of fears that improved reporting procedures could damage the reputation of their institutions, a vice-chancellor has claimed.

David Richardson, vice-chancellor of the University of East Anglia and chair of a Universities UK (UUK) group that aims to address racial harassment, told institutional leaders not to ¡°be afraid¡± that better reporting mechanisms could mean they are seen ¡°by the press as a university where, for example, sexual harassment or racial harassment is rife¡±.

¡°That¡¯s where some of our universities worry about reputation. I don¡¯t. There is much more reputational gain to be seen as a university that¡¯s actually challenging these issues,¡± he said.

¡°The most important thing is to get a good reporting process in place, so you can identify the true scale of the problem and then you can tackle it and you¡¯ll know if you are making progress.¡±

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Speaking at a UUK conference on tackling violence, harassment and hate incidents on 11 March, Professor Richardson said that when he became a vice-chancellor five years ago he would have been ¡°wary¡± about chairing a national group tackling racial harassment because there is ¡°genuine fear of being way outside one¡¯s comfort zone¡±. But he said that it was important for university leaders to ¡°promote conversations¡± about these issues, even if they ¡°don¡¯t have all the answers¡±.

He revealed that he spray-painted statistics on racial and sexual harassment across his campus to emphasise the institution¡¯s recognition of the problem. The move did not cause reputational damage ¨C it was, in fact, celebrated on social media.

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Cara Aitchison, president and vice-chancellor of Cardiff Metropolitan University and chair of UUK¡¯s Staff to Student Sexual Misconduct Advisory Group, said that she ¡°feels more confident now than I have at any time¡± in her 33-year career about the leadership of the UK university sector and its ability to tackle harassment.

¡°Among leaders of organisations there needed to be that culture change and that tipping point where some of those voices that felt marginalised now feel more able to speak. And I do think we¡¯re at that [stage]. It is almost like a tipping point,¡± she said.

¡°There is something to appeal to at the top in a way that there perhaps hasn¡¯t been before. We¡¯ve seen very different sorts of people, particularly recently, move into vice-chancellor positions¡­We are now pushing at quite an open door, and v-cs want to find solutions to these problems.¡±

Professor Aitchison added that implementing policies on staff-student relationships must become a priority for universities, and it was only ¡°a matter of time¡± before governing bodies would be required to analyse statistics on staff-student sexual misconduct.

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ellie.bothwell@timeshighereducation.com