Recently Published Report Challenges University of St Andrews on Sexual Violence Policies and Response

Following the September 2026 lawsuit against Cornell University, in which Jane Doe accused seven of her fellow students of drugging and gang-raping her in October 2024, a student group known as the St Andrews Sexual Assault Support Group released a report detailing the University of St Andrews’ own response to sexual violence. 

The report, published in early October, is 63 pages long and “is the product of eighteen months of investigation,” according to the Support St Andrews Instagram account. It combines an evidence base of twelve anonymous survey responses and in-depth analysis of the University’s policies, data, and statements. 

Written by students Sarah Aziz and Brennan Burke, the report details student survivors’ experiences and challenges they faced when bringing cases of sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) to the University. The report addresses issues of confidentiality breaches across the University’s administration, prolonged response times, obscure institutional procedures, inaccessible resources, and more. 

Prior to this report, the University published a website page in 2025, stating that they are  “committed to a zero-tolerance approach to [SGBV], of any form, in any setting.”

“SGBV damages health and wellbeing, limits freedom and potential, and is a violation of the most fundamental human rights. All students and staff must be able to study and work in safety,” the website reads.

However, one of the cases included in the report involved a support group member whose confidentiality was breached when “Student Services disclosed the full details of her case to her supervisor, who then confronted her about it in a deeply insensitive manner.” The result, according to the report, was that “her entire degree became entangled with and tainted by her trauma experience.”

Later in the report, Aziz and Burke included multiple data sets, one of which revealed that 75% of the students they surveyed felt they navigated their SGBV experience “mostly alone.”

Following the release of the report, The Saint sat down with the president of St Andrews Against Gender-Based Violence (STAAGBV), who further highlighted the challenges faced by survivors in the local student community. The STAAGBV President requested to remain anonymous, as it is part of the initiative’s mission to provide anonymous support and resources. 

Speaking about the barriers to getting support and the challenges surrounding struggles with anonymity when reporting incidents to the University, they said, “I think shame is a big part of it, and the size of the town contributes to it.” 

Founded in May 2026, STAAGBV is not a Union-affiliated society, operating via an Instagram account. The account is used as a platform to receive and share anonymous reports of sexual violence, harm, or discrimination at the University of St Andrews, and provides survivor resources. 

When asked about the origins of STAAGBV, the President responded with a recollection of their own experience with sexual violence and the process of reporting it to the University. “It feels very much like it's meant to sort of dissuade you from continuing,” they said when asked about the process and policies of reporting a case of sexual misconduct. 

“The policy gives a lot of avenues for the reported person to evade punishment,” continued the President. This refers to Section 18.1 of the University’s Student Conduct Policy 2025, which states that reported students have the right to appeal disciplinary decisions relating to non-academic misconduct, and the reporting party does not have the right to intervene. 

The President of STAAGBV described the University’s current prevention and response to SGBV as “poor,” stating:

“I would recommend reading the St. Andrews Support Group statement that was published recently. It's about 63 pages worth of failures that the University has done.” 

“I also think that because we're the first university to get the EmilyTest Charter Awards, there's, like, this kind of press that we're really on it with how we deal with these things.” 

The EmilyTest Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Charter Award, awarded to the University of St Andrews on 22 November 2023, was the first of its kind to be awarded to a UK university. Professor Dame Sally Mapstone said of the achievement: “The awarding of the EmilyTest Charter is both a culmination and a recognition of a great deal of hard work by colleagues and students to counter gender-based violence in all its forms.”

However, the STAAGBV President remarked that, despite receiving the Charter, “you have all of these survivors saying that [the policies] are not working.”

The Saint also sat down with Aimee Wallace, coordinator of GotConsent, to discuss their work and the resources available to students who have experienced SGBV.

Wallace described GotConsent as “a joint initiative between Student Services and the Student Union,” saying: 

“Our main focus is on preventing sexual and gender-based violence, but we're also there to support survivors and signpost them to different resources within the University and outside the University as well.”

Despite the work that GotConsent does, Wallace also addressed the need for continued growth within both the University and the wider St Andrews community.

“I think the biggest issue GotConsent faces with prevention work is engaging men. Most of the time our committees have been majority women, and it's sad because we know that women are most likely to be the victims or survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, yet [...] it's women who are on the front lines of prevention work,” said Wallace.

She added: “That report by the survivors group highlighted how much change is still possible.” 

“I think we should be constantly reviewing and updating how we approach these issues to make sure that we're meeting the needs of all survivors in the University.” 

Looking ahead, Wallace spoke about GotConsent’s upcoming SGBV forum, taking place on 16 October. Wallace described the forum as a space open to all students, whether or not they have personally experienced SGBV. 

She told The Saint “I think it will be a really empowering place for students to come together and find that sense of community and know that they're not alone in this struggle.” 

“We're gonna take the ideas and the feedback and the conversations that we have with students and turn that into real tangible action that we can take either to the Union or the University.”

To close her conversation with The Saint, Wallace offered a message to any survivors of SGBV in the St Andrews community: 

“I want [SGBV survivors] to know that they're not alone and they don't have to go through this alone. Even if they don't want to reach out to the University, there are so many external organisations, including 24-hour helplines, that can provide that emotional support.” 

“There're also many academic adjustments that can be put in place for survivors at University. I want to make sure that [survivors] are aware of these resources and the support that's available, while also not pressuring them to use any.”

For further information, the report is accessible through the St Andrews Sexual Assault Support Group’s Instagram account, at @supportstandrews.

Image Courtesy of GotConsent