Over half of students accused of stalking or abuse are allowed to stay on campus

Between 2015 and 2018 there were 381 incidents where university students were reported for stalking and domestic abuse, an investigation by Broadly has revealed. 

Image credit: Max Pixel

Over half of the students accused were allowed back on campus to continue their studies.

In partnership with anti-stalking charity Paladin, the online women's site Broadly  haslaunched the Unfollow Me campaign to stand up for victims of stalking and abuse. Together, they are urging the government to launch a Stalkers Register to protect further victims.

Currently, there is no existing framework to monitor serial stalkers or domestic violence perpetrators in the UK.

Around 87% of the universities surveyed do not mention stalking or domestic abuse in official documents.

In an online petition, that has so far achieved nearly 170,000 signatures, campaigners stress that 'people with a history of stalking are as dangerous as sex offenders.' This petition, launched by John Clough and Pamela Dabney, is challenging the government to launch an official register to track and monitor offenders.

Clough and Dabneys' daughters Jane Clough and Kirsty Treloar were in their twenties when they were murdered by their partners. 

Universities were asked how many students had been accused by fellow students of stalking or domestic abuse in the period 2015-2018, how many of these alleged perpetrators had been allowed to continue their studies following an investigation by the university authorities, and how many had been expelled and inquiry outcomes.

The number of reported incidents varied across universities. Cardiff University had the highest number with 115 reported cases, followed by the Edge Hill University and the University of Sussex.

The number of perpetrators that continued their studies at Cardiff is unknown. 

Russel Group universities including Oxford, Cambridge, King's College London and the London School of Economics had a total of 175 cases involving students at their institutions. Nearly a quarter of those accused were allowed to continue their studies.

A total of 119 universities responded to the FOI requests, whilst 17 universities did not respond. Universities that did not respond to the request for information included the University of Warwick and Aberystwyth University.

If you are being stalked and you are based in the UK, you can call Paladin for help on 020 3866 4107.

Lead image credit: Max Pixel