Responding to Student Disclosures

Information to support staff to whom Students may report a serious incident.

The University of Liverpool is committed to providing a safe environment for our students, and to responding appropriately to any incidents.  The Responding to Student Disclosures guidance has been produced to support staff to whom students may report an incident of sexual misconduct, victimisation, bullying, harassment or hate crime..  It gives guidance on how to provide a safe space for the student and the opportunity for them to make an informed choice about what action to choose to take.

Student Services are here to support you to respond well, should a student disclose an incident to you. We don’t expect you to provide expert advice or long-term support to a student: we can arrange this for the student. What we need from you is to provide a safe, non-judgmental space for the student to talk, signpost them to support, and provide key details of the incident to us.

Key points

  • Any member of staff could receive a disclosure. We want to make sure that staff who do receive a disclosure feel prepared, know what to do and know how they will be supported, and that students receive a consistent experience whoever they disclose to.
  • In an emergency situation, contact emergency services via 2222 (if on campus) or 999 if you are off campus. Emergency situations include incidents where the attacker is still in the vicinity or there is an immediate risk to any person.
  • In a non-emergency situation, offer a safe place for the student to talk. Check if they are comfortable talking with you where you are, or whether you should find somewhere warm, quiet and private.
  • Don't be judgmental, don't question their account and don't attempt to investigate. Just listen and ask factual questions only where appropriate.
  • Respect the student's wishes and do not pass on or share information with anyone (except, in certain circumstances, Student Services) without the student's consent. This includes the student's parents. Where you have a duty to share information with Student Services (see below), you should let the student know that you need to pass on the information and what will happen as a result.
  • Refer the student to appropriate support. You do not need to act as a counsellor or caseworker just be empathetic and supportive and refer the student to the most appropriate place or service.

Your duty to report to Student Services

Student Services must be informed of incidents in certain circumstances in order to arrange measures to ensure the safety of the reporting student, or other students or staff; in order to offer further specialist support and to ensure that we maintain an accurate picture of the prevalence of sexual misconduct against our students. You must inform Student Services in the following circumstances:

  • Immediately following calling the police where there has been a serious incident
  • Immediately, where a student has been sexually assaulted in the past seven days
  • Within 1 working day, where a student reports an incident committed by another UoL student or a member of staff.

You do not need the student's consent to share information in these circumstances. You can contact Advice and Guidance on 0151 795 1000 during office hours. If you have called the police to a serious incident out of hours, you should also contact Campus Support on 2222 as soon as you can.

In cases where the student reports an incident committed by someone external to the University, or historical incidents, you should obtain the student's consent before sharing full information with Student Services. If a student does not consent you should send an anonymous report to ensure that the University maintains an accurate picture of the prevalence of sexual misconduct, hate crime, bullying and harassment against our students. Contact Advice and Guidance within 3 working days to provide a brief overview of the incident without sharing the student's details.

Responding to disclosures

Training

Any member of staff could receive a disclosure from a student, and it is important that all staff are able to offer the student space to talk and know who to refer them to. As such, staff training has been developed and is open to any staff member who is interested.

Guidance

The guidance for staff on receiving disclosures is currently being reviewed and updated, however, you can download the current guidance on responding to disclosures of sexual misconduct, bullying, harassment, victimisation or hate crime here: Responding to disclosures guidance for staff.

Key contacts

Advice and Guidance

You should report incidents to Advice and Guidance who provide advice and support for students. The team can also offer you confidential advice if you're not sure what to do for a student.

You can contact the team on 0151 795 1000 or email; advice@liverpool.ac.uk