В Эдинбургском университете критикуют новую политику запретов на отношения с студентами

A new relationships policy at an Edinburgh university could fails to tackle a “real issue with abuse”, it has been claimed. Academics at Edinburgh Napier University were recently informed of the new rules, which ‘strongly discourage’, but do not prohibit, relationships with students over the age of 18. The policy states: “We strongly discourage colleagues from entering personal relationships with students, particularly where the colleague has a direct responsibility for, or involvement in that student’s academic studies and/or personal welfare.” Staff members are required to disclose any relationships with students, as well as any “close or intimate personal relationship” with fellow staff members. Intimate relationships with vulnerable people or those under the age of 18 are strictly prohibited, in line with the law. However, some staff members at Napier have raised concerns that the policy leaves open the possibility of abuse and predatory behaviour. One academic at the university told The Herald: “In regards to students more generally, relationships are only strongly discouraged - not prohibited or described as professional abuse. “I think that in an age where we have come through the Me-Too era and we have experienced some high-profile cases of predatory behaviour in higher education, there is an obvious power imbalance in these situations.” The staff member, who asked to remain anonymous, said that a “zero-tolerance approach” should have been adopted, contending the current policy allows “too much scope for predatory and abusive behaviour”. While the academic suggested that the student-staff policy is too liberal, they argued that the staff-staff relationship policy is vague and intrusive. “The policy says that we have to report any personal or intimate relationships with colleagues,” they remarked. “I understand why that might be necessary to avoid conflicts of interest and why that needs to be declared. There needs to be a process. “However, the words are too vague. It talks about personal and intimate relationships. How intimate is intimate? What do they mean by personal? If I am upset and a colleague consoles me, is that personal? Is that intimate?” The Herald understands that senior members of the university’s Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) branch were consulted about the potential policy, but no substantial changes were made between that draft and the published policy. A number of high-profile universities have banned intimate relationships between staff and their students in recent years, including Oxford University in 2023 and University College London in 2020. The 1752 Group, a campaign group fighting against sexual misconduct in UK higher education, argues that staff should be banned from participating in sexual and romantic relationships if they have responsibility for the student’s teaching, learning or academic support. The group notes: “Such a stipulation is already in place in other professions where professionals are in a position of power over other adults, such as medicine, psychology/counselling, or social work; in fact doctors are prohibited from entering into relationships with family members of their patients, as well as patients themselves.” Likewise, The Herald’s source at Napier suggested that failure to tackle the toxic combination of power imbalances and intimate relationships could create “a real issue with abuse and [allow] consent to be absent”. They said: “I am concerned about consent and power in these relationships. Everybody knows of cases where staff end up in relationships with students. It is a toxic environment which will result in high-profile damaging cases in the future. “I understand the need for a policy, but the university has got the tone all wrong. This is the latest in a long line of controversial moves by the university management.” Staff members have been warned that failure to disclose an intimate relationship with a colleague or student “will be considered a serious matter”, and could result in sanctions and even dismissal. A review into the policy is scheduled for August 2027. An Edinburgh Napier University spokesperson said that the institution's top priority is "the welfare of our students and colleagues". "Our Personal Relationships Policy is very clear that we strongly discourage colleagues from entering personal relationships with students. However, it recognises that personal relationships may already pre-date a student’s enrolment or a colleague’s appointment," they remarked. Read more: - Edinburgh Napier University 'looking to sell' historic campus - Edinburgh Napier University lecturers to strike in dispute over job cuts - Lecturers at Edinburgh Napier University back strike action over ‘damaging’ cuts “Where a relationship does develop between a colleague and student, it must be declared immediately. This ensures that safeguards are put in place to enable the University to make appropriate adjustments to the learning environment to reduce any risks to both the student and colleague, ensuring appropriate professional boundaries are maintained. “We explicitly acknowledge in our policy that colleagues are in a position of power relative to students and we have issued clear guidance to all colleagues to ensure that these processes are followed." The spokesperson went on to say that the university had been "closely monitoring developments" following guidance issued by the Office for Students (OfS) for universities in England. "Recent benchmarking indicates that, rather than imposing outright bans, strongly discouraging intimate relationships between colleagues and students is the general approach," they explained.