Welfare and Harassment

Student Welfare 

We want all our students to enjoy their time here and their work in English. If you do need advice or support, there is a wide range of services available: from peer supporters to medical professionals. You will have a welfare team in your college, whose contact details and roles are usually set out in the college handbook and website. As part of your induction, you’ll have registered with a medical practice (GP surgery), which you can contact for help. On this page, we provide information about support available in the Faculty and links to University services.

The University does not tolerate any form of harassment or victimisation and expects all members of the University community, its visitors and contractors to treat each other with respect, courtesy and consideration. Harassment is defined in the University’s Harassment Policy. The English Faculty fully endorses this position. We seek to provide a positive and enriching environment for all our students and staff, and we expect our members to contribute to that environment, free from harassment.

Who can I talk to?

If you have experienced an incident, or repeated incidents, of harassment, or if you feel uncomfortable about something, or want to ask a question, or have witnessed behaviour that you don’t think is right, there are many people who are here to help you. You may want to discuss it with a tutor, a member of your college welfare team or a harassment advisor in your college or the Faculty.

The University has a confidential harassment advisor network – the English Faculty’s harassment advisors are Professor Rachel Burns and Professor Andrew Klevan.

If you would prefer to speak with an advisor entirely unconnected with your department, faculty, or college; the Harassment Line can find an alternative advisor for you. You can also find details of Harassment Advisors who are BME (Black Minority Ethnic) and LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans) on the University of Oxford website. The University’s Sexual Harassment and Violence Support Service offers specialist and confidential advice and support that is independent of colleges and faculties. 

Other places you can find support and advice:

You can talk to a harassment advisor or member of a welfare team about your options if you have experienced harassment or want to make a complaint. They will talk to you about the options, and help with the University’s complaints procedure. These links also give information about your options, and how the procedure works: