OfS Condition E6 Harassment and Sexual Misconduct
The Office for Students’ (OfS) introduced a Condition of Registration, Condition E6 Harassment and Sexual Misconduct (effective 1 August 2025). The condition requires higher education providers to take effective and credible steps to prevent and respond to harassment and sexual misconduct. Institutions must ensure students are supported through clear, accessible and robust policies and procedures.
This webpage provides information on how the University meets this requirement through its approach to preventing and addressing harassment and sexual misconduct involving students.
OfS Condition E6 Compliance
To comply with this condition, the University must meet the following requirements:
- Single Comprehensive Source of Information:
The University must publish and maintain a Single Comprehensive Source of Information (SCSI) that outlines all policies and procedures relating to harassment and sexual misconduct, including those covering intimate personal relationships between staff and students. The SCSI must meet the conditions minimum content requirements, including information on student training, staff training, student support, reporting mechanisms, reporting (data handling and information compliance), investigations and decision-making process.
- Freedom of Speech:
The University must uphold freedom of speech principles, as set out by the OfS, ensuring that efforts to address harassment and sexual misconduct do not compromise lawful freedom of expression.
- Disclosure of Information:
The University is prohibited from restricting the ability of a student to disclose information about an allegation of harassment or sexual misconduct.
Preventing and Responding to Harassment and Sexual Misconduct
The University of Oxford is committed to fostering a safe environment in which all students can thrive. Harassment and sexual misconduct in any form are not tolerated here.
Building on the University’s extensive work in this space, the University’s SCSI titled ‘Supporting Students at Oxford: Preventing and Responding to Harassment and Sexual Misconduct’ was developed through a comprehensive consultation process. The content was reviewed by relevant University committees and Conference of Colleges. Individual requirements set out by the OfS were consulted on with key stakeholders across the collegiate University.
The webpage brings together key information and guidance, including:
- University policies and procedures relevant to harassment and sexual misconduct, noting that colleges have their own policies, procedures, and sources of support. Where applicable students are strongly encouraged to consult their college for further guidance.
- Other University policies relevant to OfS compliance, including the Code of Practice on Freedom of Speech and the University Policy Concerning Relationships between Staff and Students.
- Student training requirements.
- University staff training requirements.
- Reporting, investigation and decision-making procedures, with reference to:
Divisions, departments/faculties, and colleges are asked to ensure the webpage is appropriately linked in relevant student-facing webpages.
Communications materials to support the condition are available to download from the UAS Communications SharePoint site.
Student training
Consent for Students
The Consent for Students online training programme was previously strongly encouraged by the University (and mandated by some colleges) and is now a University-wide requirement.
The updated programme, including content on all forms of harassment, not only sexual misconduct and consent, will be available ahead of the 2025-26 academic year. There are no sanctions imposed on students for non-completion of the course and no self-disclosure is required to justify exemption.
Colleges are asked to continue supporting student completion of the training for matriculated students and departments for non-matriculated students. The training can be accessed by any student with a Single Sign-On (SSO) account.
Understanding Harassment and Sexual Misconduct: What You Need to Know
A standardised induction briefing document has been developed to support consistent training on harassment and sexual misconduct across the collegiate University. The document titled ‘Understanding Harassment and Sexual Misconduct: What You Need to Know’, provides concise, accessible information on harassment and sexual misconduct, including:
- Key definitions and examples of behaviours that may amount to harassment or sexual misconduct.
- Reporting routes and available support options.
The induction briefing document is intended as a flexible, student facing resource to be included in induction packs or integrated into existing materials. It includes core University content with flexibility for local adaptation and customisation by colleges and departments. Departments are expected to use the document in full or by incorporating its core content, while colleges are strongly encouraged to do so, with the flexibility to adapt and customise it to include local content as appropriate.
An editable Microsoft Word version of ‘Understanding Harassment and Sexual Misconduct: What You Need to Know’ is available on the UAS Communications SharePoint site.
University staff training
Harassment in Higher Education
In response to new legal duties under the Worker Protection Act 2023 and the OfS Condition E6, the University has introduced a required e-Learning module Harassment in Higher Education, for all University staff. The course supports compliance and the University’s work to prevent harassment by covering harassment (including sexual harassment), how to report and deal with complaints, and appropriate responses and relevant policies.
The e-Learning module has been developed to help staff understand what constitutes harassment, including sexual harassment, and the steps to take if they experience or witness such behaviour.
The University is working with Conference of Colleges Secretariat to provide college staff with access to the e-Learning Module, supporting University compliance with OfS Condition E6.
Guidance for Staff on Responding to Disclosures of Harassment and Sexual Misconduct
This guidance focusses on supporting staff to respond to student disclosures of harassment and sexual misconduct, and to signpost them in a supportive and trauma-informed way. The guidance is primarily intended for University staff; however it may also be a valuable resource for college staff.
Next steps
To support the implementation of the University’s response to Condition E6 and to strengthen its ongoing work on harassment and sexual misconduct, the University has established a Condition E6 Steering Group and a Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Training Working Group.
Condition E6 Steering Group
The Condition E6 Steering Group will provide strategic oversight of compliance with Condition E6 and guide the ongoing development, implementation and monitoring of the associated work plan. The group will collaborate with related initiatives and research projects across the collegiate University to support the development of robust evaluation activities.
Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Training Working Group
The Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Training Working group will develop bespoke, Oxford-specific training materials for students. It will explore options for integrating the training into the student registration process, monitor its impact, and enhance its relevance through feedback, date analysis and formal evaluation.
For any queries, please contact Student Welfare and Support Services.
