Written by Amy O’Donoghue
Photography by Ryan Lee
An LSE professor’s event has drawn out students to protest on campus. On 14 November, around 60 students gathered outside LSE Library to express their dissatisfaction with LSE’s response to allegations of sexual misconduct made against the professor, whilst members of the LSE Radical Collective staged a walkout of the professor’s talk.. The allegations were first published in a Beaver article last year, prompting an internal investigation by LSE. The professor was temporarily suspended. However, the investigation found that they did not need to be removed from the LSE, and they were reinstated to their position.
HandsOff LSE, LSE Radical Collective, and LSESU Palestine Society jointly objected to the university’s handling of the professor’s behaviour. The groups believe that the investigation was not thorough enough, as the previous Beaver article detailed, and that it is inappropriate for the accused individual to continue to be employed and promoted by the university.
A change.org petition, which was posted in March 2024 and has gained over 1000 signatures, called for “an independent review of LSE’s sexual misconduct procedure” and the resignation of the accused individual. HandsOff members expressed disappointment that these demands had not been met, with LSE conducting an audit by KPMG rather than an independent review in the style the group had asked for.
LSESU Palestine Society added that LSE’s treatment of the LSE 7 – a group of students who remain suspended indefinitely* for protesting against the university’s economic ties to Israel – proves that LSE has a problem protecting students. The general sentiment at the protest was that LSE chooses to protect their own interests over the interests of students.
Multiple group leaders and SU representatives made their feelings known at the protest. LSESU’s Welfare and Liberation Officer asked “what is LSE doing to safeguard students from the people they are meant to be taught by?” HandsOff President claimed there is a “lack of protection for survivors” and a “lack of safety on campus,” whilst a new student remarked they were beginning to see that LSE has a “structural problem” with their handling of potential injustices on campus.
Gathered students chanted passionate slogans such as “stop the silence, stop the shame! Hold abusers to their names!” A representative of the LSE Radical Collective also spoke to the crowd, encouraging students to get involved in their efforts to hold LSE to account.
LSE has repeatedly stated that their investigation of the accused professor was thorough, and that their maintained employment is justified. Similarly, they have defended their decision to suspend the LSE 7, claiming that this student went beyond the limits of peaceful protest. Some eyewitness accounts have contested this claim.
Student groups continue to resist the LSE administration, calling for improvements in their responses to incidents on campus and better protections for students.
An LSE spokesperson said:
“LSE is committed to a working and learning environment where people can achieve their full potential free of all types of harassment and violence. We take reports of sexual harassment extremely seriously and encourage any member of the LSE community who has experienced or witnessed this to get in touch via one of our many channels, which allow students and staff to make anonymous reports and access specialist support.
“While we do not normally comment on the details of individual disciplinary investigations, we want to assure both students and staff that the allegations in this particular case were investigated very extensively and in light of specialist advice. We are confident that the investigation was robust and that the outcome, in which the allegations were not upheld, was the correct one in light of the evidence presented.”
LSE has developed, and continues to develop, a number of measures to ensure that any allegation of misconduct receives a trauma-informed, robust and compassionate response.
“These measures include the new Report + Support system, which will enable us to address issues more quickly and consistently across the School and vastly improve our approach to case management and communication with all involved In line with sector best practice, we also plan to make greater use of external investigators in the future.
“We have also commissioned Rape Crisis South London and Survivors UK to run an Independent Sexual Violence Advisory service for the School. This will provide practical and emotional support for any student (or staff member) who needs it, and will support them through a reporting process and/or the criminal justice process if they wish. This service is available Here without a waiting list to any member of the School community. This represents a step-change in the level of specialist support we’re offering our students.
“We have also implemented an all-staff online training course on addressing harassment and sexual misconduct affecting students, developed with Advance HE, tailored to LSE’s needs and linked to our policies. This is being rolled out as mandatory training across the School.
“LSE’s approach on this vital area is grounded in sector-leading policies and specialist advice. These policies include the prohibition of personal relationships between students and staff whose role includes supervising or otherwise interacting with students as part of their job; training for specialist staff and senior leadership focused on trauma-informed investigations, adjudication, and sanctioning; and commissioning a range of dedicated external specialists to provide wellbeing support and outreach victim-survivor support services on campus.
“Alongside this, in close working with the Students’ Union, we have redesigned our Consent Ed programme to set out clearly to students what is, and is not, acceptable. We have also employed a specialist member of staff with expertise in sexual harassment and violence, to provide a consistent point of contact from disclosure through to any other university or criminal processes.”
*As of 9 December 2024, LSE has ended disciplinaries against the LSE 7.
