Reporting options
We recognise that incidents of sexual violence, domestic abuse and harassment take place and can be experienced by anyone, regardless of their identity or circumstances. It's important that you're aware of your reporting options, both with the police and, if the perpetrator is also a member of the Keele community, the University. Our support teams can provide you with information and guidance to help you make an informed decision.
If you have experienced sexual violence, domestic abuse or harassment, you can access support from a range of specialist teams within the University, including our Sexual Violence Liaison Officers and Domestic Abuse Liaison Officers. These teams can provide advice and support, facilitate referrals to additional services (with your consent), and help you to explore your reporting options if this is something you would like to do.
You might decide not to make a formal report about the incident. This is completely your decision, and you can access support from the University regardless of whether you choose to make a formal report or not.
You can find information below about the reporting options available to you, how to submit a report, and what to expect after you've submitted a report.
Report + Support
The purpose of Report + Support at Keele University is to offer all who make a report a safe, accessible, and confidential way to report incidents and seek assistance. Our reporting tool will enable us to capture hate incidents which includes all forms of harassment, racism, homophobia, sexual harassment, and sexual misconduct taking place in-person or online, on or off campus. Those who make a report will receive support. The platform is also an appropriate place for the reporting of other associated wellbeing concerns.
Anonymous reporting >
Community
An increased awareness of what is occurring across the University and in areas associated with Keele will help us to address unacceptable behaviours using appropriate interventions. By making a report you are helping us to improve the work, study, and social environment at Keele for everyone.
If you or someone else is in immediate danger or you need medical assistance, please call 999 or, if you're on campus, call the Campus Safety team on 01782 733999.
If you have experienced sexual assault within the past 10 days, you may also wish to contact the local Sexual Assault Referral Centre. You can contact the centre 24/7 on 0800 970 0372. A Crisis Worker will listen to what has happened to you, and explain how they can help and what options are available to you. You can visit the SARC whether you wish to make a report to the police or not. The service can also collect evidence and store it until you have made your decision about whether to report to the police. If you need to attend the SARC from campus, our Campus Safety Team can arrange transport for you.
Your options for reporting sexual violence, domestic abuse and harassment
Sometimes, it can take a while for victims and survivors to decide whether to make a formal report, and thoughts about reporting can change over time once they have had some time to process what has happened. With this in mind, it may be useful (where appropriate) to take photos of the scene of the incident/s and keep any relevant clothes, bedding, screenshots, digital messages or emails as these can then be used if you decide to make a formal report in the future.
Depending on the circumstances, there are a number of options for making a formal report about what has happened:
- Police - Any instance of sexual violence, domestic abuse or harassment (regardless of whether you know who the perpetrator is) can be reported to the police.
- Keele University - If the perpetrator is another member of the University community (either as a student or a staff member), you can make a formal report to the University.
- External organisation - If you've experienced sexual violence, domestic abuse or harassment within an external organisation setting (for example, a workplace or external placement), you may be able to make a formal report directly to that organisation.
You can find more information in the drop-down sections below about how to make a report and what to expect.
Please note, in some cases where a student discloses information to the University about something that has happened (for example, to an Academic Mentor or Student Services), we may be legally required to report any safeguarding concerns further. However, we would inform you of the reasons for doing so. Some examples of circumstances in which we may need to do this are:
- A child under the age of 18 is at risk of harm
- A 'vulnerable adult' is at risk of harm
- There is risk to the wider university community or general public (for example, if the perpetrator is studying on a professional course such as Medicine)
- A completed DASH (Domestic Abuse, Stalking and Honour-Based Violence) risk assessment meets the high risk threshold for a referral to the local Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference
Making a report
You can make a non-emergency report by calling 101 or submitting a report online. It doesn't matter when the offence took place; there is no deadline for making a report. If the incident took place in the area local to Keele, the local force is Staffordshire Police, which provides an online reporting form.
If you have experienced an incident of sexual violence within the past 10 days, you may want to consider contacting the local Sexual Assault Referral Centre. You can contact our local SARC 24/7 on 0800 970 0372. The service can collect evidence and store it until you have made your decision about whether to report to the police. You can find out more about how to preserve forensic evidence online. You might also want to consider preserving digital evidence, such as relevant messages, emails, social media posts and images.
If you want to make a report but you don't want the police to know your identity, you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or contact them online. This means that information can then be held on police systems and the PND (Police National Database). The PND is a system used by all UK police forces that records information and intelligence.
If you don't want to contact the police yourself, someone else (or a 'third party’) can make a report to the police on your behalf. They can report as much or as little detail as you wish. This can still be useful to the police now or in the future.
What to expect
When a crime is first reported, you should be given a crime reference number - make sure to keep a note of this number and the date you made the report. When contacting the police after the initial report, these details will help to identify the case within the police system.
If you make a report over the phone, the police may ask you some questions to help them to start an investigation and understand if there are ongoing safety risks. Notes from these initial police reports may be used if the case goes to court. Your case should then be assigned to a police officer, who will contact you to explain the next steps for your investigation. This may include taking a formal statement, a police interview and gathering necessary evidence (this could include items, forensic and digital evidence). If any items, equipment or devices are taken from you as evidence (such as your phone or laptop), you may be able to receive financial support from the University's Hardship Fund to support with the replacement of these.
It can take a long time for the police to complete an investigation, particularly if there is a lot of evidence to review. The police officer investigating your case should keep you updated on its progress, but you are also able to contact the police to ask for updates if you haven't heard anything in a while.
Once the case has been reviewed, you should be informed whether they intend to charge the suspect and take the case to court. If the case is taken to court, it's likely that you may be asked to give evidence, but they should ensure that your safety and wellbeing are considered.
The UK police website contains a useful guide on what to expect during a rape or sexual assault investigation.
If you decide to report to the police, you may be offered support with additional specialist external services, such as:
Making a report
If the perpetrator is also a Keele University student, you can make a formal complaint about them to the University under Regulation B1: Student Discipline. You can make a non-emergency report by contacting Student Services or, depending on your circumstances, you may wish to contact our Sexual Violence Liaison Officer (SVLO) team or Domestic Abuse Liaison Officer (DALO) team. In the first instance, you will be asked to complete a Serious Incident Statement form. This is an opportunity for you to explain, in your own words, what has happened and who you would like to make a report against.
Please note, if you have chosen to report to the police, the University will not be able to investigate the case until the police investigation is completed. However, we may still be able to place temporary restrictions on the perpetrator, following guidance from the police.
What to expect
Once we have received your completed Serious Incident Form, your case will then be assigned to an investigating officer, who will contact you to explain the next steps of your investigation. This may include taking part in an interview and gathering necessary evidence (this could include witness statements and digital evidence). If you are being supported by a Student Experience and Support Officer, SVLO or DALO, they can accompany you to the interview if you would like them to.
Depending on the circumstances, the University may hold a Risk Assessment Panel with key members of staff to evaluate the risks to the students involved and the wider university community. The panel can put appropriate temporary restrictions against the perpetrator in place (such as no-contact warnings and campus-based restrictions) to help keep you safe.
It can take some time for the University to complete an investigation, particularly if there is a lot of evidence to review. The officer investigating your case should keep you updated on its progress, but you are also able to contact the Student Discipline team to ask for updates if you haven't heard anything in a while.
Once the case has been reviewed, you will be informed whether the University is able to take the case to panel. If it is, the panel will consider the case to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to show that the student has breached Regulation B1 and, if so, what permanent restrictions they intend to impose. The restrictions imposed will depend on the circumstances of the case.
You can find more information about our student discipline procedures online.
Making a report
If the alleged perpetrator is a member of staff at Keele University, you have the option to make a formal complaint about them to the University. You can make a non-emergency report by contacting Student Services or Human Resources at hr.suport@keele.ac.uk or 01782 731816, who will be able to advise you on your next steps for submitting a formal complaint. You can find further information on our full guidance document. You can also use the Report + Support portal.
Please note, if you have chosen to report to the police, the University may not be able to investigate the case until the police investigation is completed. However, we may still be able to put temporary risk-based measures in place, following guidance from the police.
What to expect
If a formal complaint is made a member of Human Resources will review the content of the report and engage with the reported party’s line manager or appropriate other senior representative of the University. Where there is insufficient information, you may be contacted for further information. If there is insufficient information or it is determined that there is no case for the staff member to answer, you will be notified and explanation provided. Where it is determined that an investigatory process should commence an investigating officer will be appointed who will contact you to explain the next steps of the investigation. This is likely to involve taking part in an interview and gathering necessary evidence (this could include witness statements and digital evidence). You can be supported at any such meetings by a member of the Keele community who has not been witness to the reported behaviour. If you are being supported by a Student Experience and Support Officer, Sexual Violence Liaison Officer or Domestic Violence Liaison Officer, they may be able to accompany you to the interview if you would like them to.
It can take some time for the University to complete an investigation, particularly if there is a lot of evidence to review. The officer investigating your case should keep you updated on its progress, but you are also able to contact them or the Human Resources team to ask for updates if you haven't heard anything in a while.
Once the investigation has been completed, you will be informed of the outcome and if there is a prime facie case and will proceed to a formal disciplinary hearing. You and anyone directly affected by any decisions made will be informed about the decisions and reasons for them.
You can find more information about our procedures for reporting a member of staff online.
Making a report
You can make a report to the University about either another student or a member of staff via the Report + Support platform - ideally, we would prefer reporting students to provide their contact details as part of their report to allow us to offer support and investigate further, but it is possible to make an anonymous report within the portal.
You can get advice and support by contacting Student Services or, depending on your circumstances, you may wish to contact our Sexual Violence Liaison Officer (SVLO) team or Domestic Abuse Liaison Officer (DALO) team. You can also contact Human Resources at hr.support@keele.ac.uk or 01782 731816.
What to expect
Where someone chooses to report sexual violence and misconduct anonymously via the University’s online Report + Support platform, information received can be investigated however action will be limited due to the anonymity of the report. Anonymised information will help the University understand patterns in behaviour, assess trends and inform priorities and activities, including areas where interventions may be appropriate.
If you have chosen to include your contact details in your report, an appropriate member of University staff (dependent on the type of report you have submitted) will contact you to offer support and discuss your options for your next steps (as above).
Making a report
If you experienced sexual violence, domestic abuse or harassment while on a placement or while working at an external organisation, you may have the option to make a report to the placement provider or external organisation. The reporting procedure will differ between organisations, so it's important to seek advice from someone at the organisation who you trust.
You can get advice and support by contacting Student Services or, depending on your circumstances, you may wish to contact our Sexual Violence Liaison Officer (SVLO) team or Domestic Abuse Liaison Officer (DALO) team.
What to expect
Different organisations will have different procedures for investigating reports, but you should be able to ask for copies of any policies relating to this. It may be that the organisation is unable to investigate, in which case you still have the right to report to the police.
