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<p>The government takes any form of violence and sexual harassment, including in Higher
Education (HE), extremely seriously.</p><p>As independent and autonomous institutions,
universities are responsible for providing a safe and inclusive environment for all
students. The legal obligation for ensuring that students do not face discrimination,
harassment or victimisation rests with the HE providers. They should discharge their
responsibilities fully and have robust policies and procedures in place to comply
with the law, and to investigate and swiftly address sexual misconduct.</p><p>The
Office for Students and its predecessor provided £2.45m funding for 63 projects tackling
sexual misconduct in 2017 and 2018.</p><p>A recent survey of universities by Universities
UK shows that progress is being made to address sexual misconduct in HE. However,
the government acknowledges that there is much further to go to combat the culture
of harassment. We urge all university leaders to take ownership and prioritise a zero
tolerance culture to all harassment and hate crime.</p><p>The government will continue
to prioritise tackling of all forms of harassment and hate crime in HE.</p><p> </p>
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