How to share concerns (make a disclosure)

Overview

Sharing concerns about incidents of worrying or inappropriate behaviour you’ve experienced or witnessed  ensures we can help you to access relevant support and discuss the reporting options available to you. It also helps us to monitor patterns of behaviour and take action to address these, wherever possible.

This might include incidents of:

• bullying, harassment and discrimination
• sexual violence or misconduct, including sexual harassment
• domestic abuse or stalking
• honour- based abuse and forced marriage

Sharing the details of incidents and behaviours you’ve experienced or witnessed does not mean that you have to take forward a report. We refer to this sharing of information as ‘disclosing’. 

A disclosure may become a report if you ask for it to be passed to the teams who manage student resolutions or,  if it relates to a member of staff, to Human Resources (HR). 

More information about making a report

How to disclose something 

The best way to disclose concerns to the University is through our online disclosure tool, Report + Support. 

This platform allows you to disclose any concerning behaviour that you have experienced or witnessed to the University. 

You can disclose incidents anonymously or using your personal details, which allows us to contact you to offer support and further information. 

The Report + Support site also has information about different types of concerning behaviour, and links to University and external support services.

What happens when I make a disclosure?

If you're a student 

Both anonymous and named disclosure forms made by or on behalf of a student are triaged and managed by the Safeguarding and Welfare Team. 

If you include your contact details, a member of the team will contact you within five working days (but often more quickly than this). 

Named disclosures that relate to students living within the University residences will normally be passed to the Residence Life team, who will manage ongoing support. 

If you make a disclosure about something you’ve witnessed, or which happened to another person, we won’t normally take any direct action without the consent of the person who experienced the behaviour. 

Anonymous disclosures are also triaged and we may use the information provided to take action, where possible. While it’s unlikely that we can take forward a report against an individual with only an anonymous disclosure, we can share information with other teams and services and use it to identify patterns of behaviour. This may lead to actions including:

• collecting and preserving evidence (such as CCTV) should a named disclosure come in at a later date
• delivery of training to specific groups, for example a sports team or academic cohort
• alternative resolutions with individuals identified in multiple disclosures
• increased monitoring of locations/ buildings
• awareness / information campaigns 

If you’re a staff member raising concerns about a student or concerning student behaviour

If you’re raising concerns about a student, your form will be triaged by the Student Safeguarding and Welfare Team. They will contact you to find out more information, in order to support you and/or the student that you’re concerned about. 

Reporting behaviour you have personally experienced as a member of staff (staff login required)

What can I disclose? 

Any member of the University community can make a disclosure about concerning behaviour they have experienced or witnessed, including

• incidents bullying, harassment and discrimination
• sexual violence/ sexual harassment
• domestic abuse
• stalking
• honour-based abuse

What information do I need to provide?

When you submit a disclosure, you’ll be asked questions about what happened and given the opportunity to explain this in your own words.

If you have any evidence, for example screenshots, photographs or other information, keep these safe. You may be asked to share these with the Safeguarding and Welfare team, or HR when they contact you.

If you’d like your disclosure to be investigated, you’ll have the opportunity to discuss this either via email or in person when you’re contacted by the Safeguarding and Welfare team.

What if it happened a long time ago?

We understand that it may take some time to decide whether or not to share the details of something you’ve experienced or witnessed. No matter when the incident happened, we can still provide you with information and referral to support for your wellbeing, studies or employment. 

There is no time limit on disclosing to the University, although there may be some limitations to the response we are able to provide. For example, we are not able to investigate an incident involving someone who no longer studies or works at the University, or if the incident/behaviour took place prior to coming to University.

What if I want to make a report?

Disclosing an incident doesn’t mean that you have to decide to take forward a report. Your decision to report or not will be respected. 

If you choose not to report, you can change your mind and bring forward a report at a later date. 

For information about what happens if you decide to make a report:

What happens if you make a report

I’m not ready to make a disclosure. What can I do?

You can find information on the Student Online Support Hub and on Report + Support about different kinds of concerning incidents or behaviour you may have experienced, including information about support you can access.

You don’t need to make a disclosure to access wider University and external support services.