Harassment and sexual misconduct

This webpage summarises the University’s policies and procedures on student harassment and sexual misconduct, including intimate personal relationships between staff members and students, and the support available. It is the ‘single comprehensive source of information’ required by the Office for Students (OfS registration condition E6) and is designed to be accessible and transparent, ensuring that all current members of our community (and potential future students) are informed about the steps we take to protect students and the processes in place for reporting and addressing incidents.

At BIMM University, we are committed to fostering a safe and respectful environment for all students, staff, and visitors and maintaining a culture in which incidents of harassment or sexual misconduct will not be tolerated. All members of BIMM’s student and staff community are expected to take an active role in ensuring that interpersonal relationships and interactions are underpinned by mutual respect, open communication and clear consent.

The university will support any member of its community who has been subject to harassment or sexual misconduct, will investigate any report that harassment or sexual misconduct has been committed by any student or member of staff, and will take action where appropriate.

If you’re looking for more external support options, please check out our extensive support page for people who have experienced harassment or sexual misconduct.

Scope

Our policies cover all incidents of harassment and sexual misconduct affecting students, including conduct between students and by staff towards students. These policies apply to all higher education courses provided by or on behalf of BIMM University (BIMM Music Institute, Performers College, and MetStudios – for information relating to MetFilm School, please see here).

Throughout these pages, the ‘Reporting person’ is defined as the individual who discloses or reports an allegation of harassment or sexual misconduct. The ‘Responding person’ is defined as the individual who is alleged to have committed an act of harassment or sexual misconduct.

Harassment: As defined under Section 26 of the Equality Act 2010 and Section 1 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, harassment includes unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic that violates a person’s dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment. The effect of the conduct (and not the intentions behind it) is key to deciding whether harassment has occurred. A single event or a series of events might constitute harassment.

Harassment, therefore, may involve conduct of a sexual nature (sexual harassment) or it may be conduct related to age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, sex or sexual orientation, religion or belief.

Sexual Misconduct: relates to all unwanted conduct of a sexual nature.

This includes, but is not limited to: Sexual harassment as defined by Section 26(2) Equality Act 2010. Assault as defined by the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Rape as defined by the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Physical unwanted sexual advances as set out by the Equality and Human Rights Commission: Sexual harassment and the law, 2017.

Intimidation or promising resources or benefits in return for sexual favours as set out by the Equality and Human Rights Commission: Sexual harassment and the law, 2017. Distributing private and personal explicit images or video footage of an individual without their consent, as defined by the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015.

A full definition of Harassment and Sexual Misconduct can be found in the University’s Bullying & Harassment Policy and Procedure and Sexual Misconduct Policy. (insert links)

If you’ve experienced harassment or sexual misconduct, it’s entirely your decision whether to share this information with the University. Should you wish to do so, you’ll be listened to and will be treated with care and respect.

Disclosing with personal details

The University provides a reporting platform for students to disclose any incidents of bullying, discrimination, harassment, hate crime and sexual misconduct. Through the reporting platform, you can request a confidential meeting with a Student Wellbeing Adviser to get information on reporting options and support available so that you can make an informed decision on what happens next. If you decide to make a disclosure, you’ll be listened to and will be treated with care and respect. You’ll be informed of your options, and support will be provided regardless of whether you wish to take further action.

No formal action will be taken unless you decide you’d like your disclosure to be escalated to a formal report, or if there’s a concern about someone’s immediate safety or a safeguarding issue.

You may also choose to report the matter to the police, either alongside or instead of telling the University. Whichever path you choose, your decision will be respected. If you opt to report to the police, a Student Wellbeing Adviser can support you throughout the process. Student Wellbeing Advisors have been trained in receiving disclosures of harassment and/or sexual misconduct to ensure that are equipped to handle such matters.

Disclosing anonymously

You can also disclose anonymously. While we welcome anonymous submissions, please be aware that the University may not be able to investigate or take action based on this information alone. This is due to the need for fairness and transparency in the process — particularly if the individual named could potentially identify you or cannot respond without knowing the details.

If you don’t want to use our disclosure platform, the Bullying & Harassment Policy and Procedure, and Sexual Misconduct Policy sets out the process for requesting action to be taken under the appropriate University policy. However, we would encourage students to consider disclosing the matter in the first instance, to ensure that they can get support from Student Wellbeing.

Disclosing Anonymously                                                   Disclosing with personal details

If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call the emergency services:

  • UK – 999
  • Germany – 112
  • Ireland – 112

If you, or someone you know, has been affected by harassment or sexual misconduct, there are there are a variety or support options available to meet your needs, whether or not you want to report your experience. Find out more on our support page.

Our investigation procedures are designed to be credible, fair, and reflective of established principles of natural justice.

Investigations into allegations of harassment and sexual misconduct are carried out in accordance with the University’s Bullying and Harassment Policy & Procedure, Sexual Misconduct Policy and Student Disciplinary Procedure.

Investigations into allegations of harassment and sexual misconduct concerning a member of university staff are carried out in accordance with the Staff Disciplinary Policy. All staff involved in conducting investigations, or making disciplinary decisions will have completed specialist, trauma informed training to ensure they are equipped to reach appropriate, informed conclusions.

All information related to reports is handled sensitively and in compliance with data protection legislation. Ensuring confidentiality when making reports is key to creating a culture where students feel safe to make a disclosure about sexual misconduct or harassment.

Further details about confidentiality and information sharing are provided in the Sexual Misconduct Policy and the Bullying & Harassment Policy & Procedure.

The University will provide the student who has raised an allegation with an outcome of the investigation and/or explanation of the actions taken by the University, or not taken if applicable, in accordance with the Student Disciplinary Procedure, where it is reasonable and practical to do so. Depending on the circumstances, it may be possible only to provide limited information.

All students complete mandatory training during induction to help build a safe and respectful university community. This includes:

  • Understanding sexual consent
  • Recognising harassment and sexual misconduct
  • How to report concerns or incidents

All staff working at the University undergo regular safeguarding training. Those staff whose roles deal with the reporting and investigation process undergo further specialist training on handling disclosures, conducting investigations, and upholding principles of freedom of speech.

Staff are not permitted to have an intimate relationship with a student, including physical, romantic or intimate, except where the relationship existed prior to either party joining the company in the relevant capacity or the introduction of this policy provision.

We are committed to taking steps that will make a significant and credible difference to protecting students from harassment and sexual misconduct. These include:

  • Conducting a review of our policies and processes, making adjustments as necessary to enhance their effectiveness and ensuring compliance with Condition E6.
  • Building feedback surveys into our training for students and staff, evaluating the results and making changes to the training where appropriate.
  • Analysing data on reports received, to identify any trends and actions that need to be taken.
  • BIMM University are proud supporter of White Ribbon, the UK’s leading charity engaging men and boys to prevent men’s violence against women and girls. Events are held across campuses every November to mark White Ribbon Day, raising awareness and calling on students and staff to sign the White Ribbon Promise to never commit, excuse or stay silent about male violence against women.

BIMM University does not use non-disclosure agreements in relation to complaints of harassment, sexual misconduct or other forms of abuse. This has been prohibited by the Office for Students since September 2024.

Our comprehensive source of information is prominently published and easily accessible on our website. We commit to:

  • Regular Communication: Informing staff and students about our policies at least once each calendar year.
  • Inclusion in Key Documents: Featuring information about our policies in main documents such as prospectuses and handbooks.
  • Version Transparency: Clearly indicating when content has changed and providing access to historical versions of policies
© 2025 BIMM University
All Rights Reserved
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.