are very much in line with key areas for improvement highlighted across the wider
stakeholder group and in the research considered.
Furthermore, they echo the call for more specialist training, specifically for academic and
support staff working with postgraduate students. They argue that existing codes of conduct
covering relationships between staff and students are inadequate and that UUK should
consult with the NUS and the University and College Union to develop a code of conduct
which could be put on a statutory footing to ensure it is enforceable and help to prevent
serial perpetrators moving between institutions.
A submission was also made concerning staff to student sexual harassment, exploitation and
abuse specifically in relation to tertiary music education, with a focus on the conservatoires.
The authors of the submission argue that allegations of serious sexual exploitation have been
made across a number of the UK conservatoires, though there does not appear to be data on
this. The submission reports particular problems in relation to disclosure, reports of student
complaints being dismissed and poor institutional response to whistleblowing. These must
be addressed in clear policies and procedures which protect students and ensure that their
complaints are heard. The authors also call for improved training, research into the way
abuse occurs in a music education context and how institutions should respond to this, and a
code of conduct for staff in classical music higher education institutions.
UUK also received evidence from Conservatoires UK (CUK) which highlighted guidance
developed within the conservatoire sector to ensure safe and mutually respective working
practices between staff and students over 18. This followed a small number of cases – the
majority of which took place in the 1970s and 1980s – where conservatoire staff committed
crimes of rape and sexual assault against female students. In response to these historic
failings the conservatoire sector has developed CUK’s Principles of Best Practice in Teaching
which set out guidelines for safe working practices with students over 18, particularly in oneto-one teaching settings. They include guidelines on physical contact between teacher and
student that is necessary for the student’s learning; safe and comfortable teaching spaces
that incorporate a proportionate degree of external visibility; and the use of teaching spaces
that are approved by the institution with any off-site teaching, where this is permitted, being
subject to prior approval by the institution.
The Principles state that, where students are aged 18 or over, teachers are strongly
discouraged from establishing or seeking a sexual relationship with students and that each
conservatoire is expected to have its own policies and procedures to deal with any such
occurrence. This includes procedures for both students and staff to report concerns and how
to seek advice and support if they believe that institutional policies, procedures and practices
are not being followed. The Conservatoires UK Student Network also acts as an important
focus for the student voice across the sector, and provides a conduit for issues of particular
concern to conservatoire students to be addressed at a high level through the Conservatoires
UK Board.
Forced marriage
There is no legal definition of violence against women in the UK. It generally includes sexual
violence and rape, stalking and harassment, domestic violence, trafficking of women, female
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