OfS Condition E6: a first step towards a unified approach to harassment and sexual misconduct, but does it go far enough?

In June the Ministry of Justice announced new legislation under the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 which affects NDAs and confidentiality clauses.* Related guidance, published at the beginning of June, sets out the impact of this legislation on the enforceability of such agreements.

In July 2024 the Office for Students (OfS) published guidance on a new condition of registration dealing specifically with harassment and sexual misconduct. That condition, ‘E6’, comes into force on 1 August 2025. As such, universities and colleges have had a year to ensure they comply.

As we await the release of the Netflix series Adolescence this evening by award winning writer Jack Thorne, I am interested to see how the series will deal with very real, yet often publicly unheard problems of how our criminal justice system, in particular the police, manage children who are alleged to have committed serious offences.

In a landmark case, Nicholas Hawkes, from Basildon, Essex, has become the first person to be convicted and imprisoned in England and Wales for the criminal offence of cyber-flashing. This historic verdict marks a significant moment in the life of the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA), which aims to combat digital harassment and safeguard online communities.

We act for students in respect of investigations and related matters. One of the factors that organisations often overlook is the effect the pressure of education, let alone disciplinary issues, have on individuals. Recent cases have highlighted a call for action to ensure the mental wellbeing of students is appropriately safeguarded.

The police are undertaking the first reported investigation into a “virtual rape”, which is said to have taken place in the metaverse. This case brings to the forefront a number of questions around the adequacy of the UK’s current legislation surrounding sexual offences, and whether it can cater to behaviours taking place in the metaverse.

Research reveals overwhelmingly negative experiences of the care system for victims and perpetrators of youth violence.

In March 2023, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) commissioned research on the lived experiences of those who have committed – or experienced – serious youth violence. The findings were published alongside HMICFRS’s report into the policing of these issues and as cross-disciplinary calls increase for a rethink of how  serious youth violence is tackled. In a follow-up to his previous blog, Paul Egunjobi looks at the findings.

On 8^th March 2023, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) published a report examining how well the police tackle serious youth violence. We look at the report and one of the issues it has highlighted: how Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) are used, and how effectively the police work with VRUs and other partner organisations.

Long delays are an all-too familiar part of the criminal justice system. As highlighted in the recent case of BH v Norwich Youth Court, those delays can have a significant impact on young people, particularly when a defendant turns 18 during the long process. An imminent change in the law may improve the situation but there are wider issues to be solved, too. Partner Sandra Paul and paralegal Emma McGrath look at the issues.

Amid increased focus on the regulation of cryptoassets in the UK, law enforcement agencies have carried out unprecedented raids targeting illegally-operated cryptocurrency ATMs.

A damning report published by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has found police forces to be “overwhelmed and ineffective” in relation to digital forensics. The HMICFRS found that there were more than 25,000 devices waiting to be examined – and this is without taking into account all the devices already in the system.

It’s the knock on the door that parent fear, or is it just me? Thankfully, the Courts have provided some valuable guidance about this nightmare scenario.

There are many reasons the police may want to speak to your child, but few occasions where the reason might be urgent enough to justify an unannounced visit and an arrest.

The aftermath of the death of George Floyd and the strength of feeling surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement should provide Police forces in the UK with a reason to re-assess their relationships with the communities that they serve.

Once an allegation is made against a student (or member of academic staff), either by another student, a member of staff or someone outside the university, it is important that that the University takes stock of the issue and acts carefully to ensure fairness to all parties. 

University providers owe a duty of care towards staff members and students; this duty takes on particular significance during a disciplinary process and it is essential that Universities provide appropriate and relevant information and support to all parties involved in allegations of misconduct.

What happens when a complaint is made to a University about the conduct of a student or a member of academic staff?  What should the procedures for the resolution of these complaints look like and how can all parties be reassured that such allegations will be resolved fairly? 

At last week’s Westminster Higher Education (HE) Conference, speakers from Student Unions, Universities, to regulators and law firms discussed how best to tackle sexual violence and harassment in high education, including how to change campus culture and improve complaints and disciplinary processes. This blog summarises those discussions and reflects on where the sector’s key focus areas should be now. 

Props are well known for their fondness of the ‘dark arts’ of Rugby, but over the weekend (7 March 2020) the England prop Joe Marler went a step further. In this blog, Matthew Hardcastle looks at the situation and explains whether it should be considered sexual assault or not.

The recent acquittal of our client, Oritsé Williams, once again puts a spotlight on the prosecution of rape and serious sexual offences, and the particular complexities faced by high profile individuals defending allegations of this nature.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) was established to investigate and prosecute cases involving serious or complex fraud, a mission that inevitably leads it to the corporate sector. In 2010, it was given two significant tools in dealing with companies: a simple route to corporate criminal liability for bribery cases in the Bribery Act 2010 (the stick); and a means of incentivising a company fixed with corporate criminal liability to co-operate with the SFO by entering into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) and so avoiding a conviction (the carrot).