education

Cambridge University graduate sues over handling of sexual harassment complaint

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A former student is suing the University of Cambridge over the way it dealt with her sexual harassment complaint – saying their response left her more traumatised than the harassment itself.

Danielle Bradford said she was discouraged by the university from launching a formal complaint after she was bombarded by up to 50 messages a day – many of which were imbued with sexual innuendos.

Ms Bradford, who now researches sexual harassment in academic fieldwork, said she was also told she was not allowed to discuss the case with anyone – not even her own friends and family.

The former student said the disciplinary procedure left her feeling vulnerable and “re-victimised”.

Ms Bradford’s formal complaint was upheld by the university under the criminal standard of proof of beyond reasonable doubt. The verdict mandated an apology letter from her harasser and imposed sanctions of no-contact.

These sanctions led to Cambridge also restricting Ms Bradford’s access to certain university sites. However her confidentiality agreement stopped her from telling others why she had been banned from these locations. 

Ms Bradford tweeted: “I was treated as just another witness, not a complainant, so I had no rights and no representation. I did not have the right to appeal any decisions made, have any input into said decisions, no right to a lawyer, or to see the documentation.”

The former student said her harasser, a student who had been “in a supervisory role” over Ms Bradford, had access to her testimony, “was allowed to pick the composition of the panel that tried the case [and] was allowed to appeal any decision made”, which she said she was not.

She said the fieldwork site where the incidents of harassment took place is still advertised by the university, and that her harasser “still goes to the same field site”. She noted “no restrictions were put on his teaching”.

Ms Bradford has now filed a lawsuit against the university under the Equality Act – arguing she is a victim of discrimination. 

 “I was told that I should think about it very carefully because it could affect my place in my department and any kind of future career that I wanted to go into,” she told Channel 4 News.

“There were no sanctions put in place to prevent this happening to other people … There was no aspect of restorative justice either.

“If a procedure is re-traumatising, if it is discriminatory, if the result of the procedure does not make anyone more safe than they were before, then it being upheld is not enough.”

Ms Bradford said she was hoping the case she was taking against the university would lead to some “concrete changes”.

She added: “It was made very explicit to me that if I told anyone – and that included friends and family – about what had happened, about the fact that I was taking a complaint and then even after about the outcome of the complaint that I was at risk of being charged with harassment myself.”

The saga comes after it emerged 165 reports of rape and sexual assault were made at the University of Cambridge over three years.

In spite of others making sexual assault and harassment allegations, hers is the only one the university has upheld since it launched its new complaints procedure in 2016, according to Channel 4.

A spokesperson for the university said: “The University of Cambridge takes the personal safety of its students very seriously and is recognised within the higher education sector for its leading role in tackling harassment and sexual misconduct. 

“We cannot comment on specific cases, but where students disclose sexual misconduct and wish action to be taken, information is given about the different reporting options available to them, including complaining to the police, and the potential consequences of these options.

“The university encourages students to be realistic about the reporting processes and their possible outcomes. The process is designed to take action to investigate whether a student has breached university rules and, if so, to impose proportionate sanctions. The discipline process exists to keep students safe while in the university environment.”

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