Durham students 'no longer trust leaders of university'
The students blame the universities handling of bullying complaints
Durham students have said that they no longer trust that university leaders value their safety following the universities' handling of alleged incidents of bullying.
A letter, signed by 100 students and alumni, accuses the Uni of not being serious about protecting staff and students and it claims a culture of apathy towards bullying and harassment exists.
The document states that protecting staff and students should be the priority, and allowing abuses of power, bullying or harassment to continue is unacceptable.
The open letter, which has also been signed by the presidents or vice-presidents of colleges and societies, says: 'When complaints are upheld and action is not taken, or is delayed to the point of being ineffective, members of our community no longer trust that the leaders of the university value their safety.'
'If there is a continued procedural failure in these situations we can only conclude that Durham University is not serious about protecting its staff and students.
'Durham University's current culture of apathy towards bullying and harassment must be tackled immediately so that members of our community are able to work and study safely.'
When did this first surface?
It follows reports in The Guardian that a Durham college principal was allowed to remain in post despite being alleged to have frequently reduced colleagues to tears and made sexist remarks.
The University have released a statement saying that they do not accept any form of bullying, prejudice or discrimination and that they're working with students to rebuild confidence within the university that they'll listen, investigate and take decisive action.
In July 2020, Durham University vowed to 'do better' after a report revealed 18% of staff and 30% of students said that they had experienced some form of bullying or harassment whilst at the university.
Anya Chuykov, president of Durham University Intersectional Feminist Society, said: "This is not an isolated incident, and the behaviour of Durham University speaks to the toxic atmosphere that so many students and staff must live with at universities and schools up and down the country.
"Students and staff must join forces to dismantle this culture of permissiveness towards tackling bullying, harassment and misogyny."
Read More: Record number of children referred to mental health support
How have the University responded?
Since the publication of the report by the Durham Commission on Respect, Values, and Behaviour, the Russell Group institution said it has taken a number of actions to support respectful behaviours across the community.
A spokeswomen for Durham University said: "We condemn any incidents of bullying, harassment or misogyny in the strongest possible terms and will take action in line with our published policies.
"We encourage reporting via our Report and Support tool which provides a central point of contact to report such incidents.
"Everyone has the right to work and study in a safe and respectful environment and all our staff and students are expected to follow the university's values on behaviour and regulations on conduct.
She added: "We are implementing the recommendations of our Durham Commission on Respect, Values and Behaviour, aimed at supporting respectful behaviours across all of our community.
"We have recently taken measures to promote openness and transparency on student conduct cases through publicly communicating outcomes and we are working with students to rebuild confidence that we will listen, investigate promptly and take decisive action."