Elizabeth Berrett
As A-level season begins, most families are thinking about grades, revision timetables and whether the university dream will survive a tricky biology paper. But new Office for Students data has put another, far less comfortable question on the table: will your child actually be safe when they arrive on campus in September?
It is the sort of question parents would rather not ask. Understandably so. University is supposed to be the great launchpad: independence, friendships, late-night essays, questionable pasta, and the first serious attempt at doing laundry without turning everything the colour of a bruised plum.
Yet the latest figures suggest there is a harder conversation to be had before the posters go up in halls.
New University Data Every Parent Should Read
Analysis published by the Office for Students found that 24.5 per cent of students experienced sexual harassment since starting university, while 14.1 per cent experienced sexual assault or violence.
The findings come from responses by more than 50,000 final-year undergraduates, making it the largest survey of its kind ever conducted in UK higher education.
The overall numbers are stark enough. But the subject-level data is even more sobering.
More than four in ten students studying languages or veterinary sciences reported sexual harassment. Nearly one in three female veterinary students — 31.1 per cent — reported experiencing sexual assault or violence.
That does not mean every campus is unsafe, nor does it mean every student is at equal risk. But it does mean parents should be asking universities sharper questions before results day, rather than assuming the safety net is already there and working beautifully.
Josh Fleming, interim chief executive of the Office for Students, said: “Every student should be able to enter higher education with the knowledge that they will be safe from sexual harassment and assault. Sadly, we know that isn’t the case for a significant number of students across the country.”
Why Campus Safety Can No Longer Be An Afterthought
The Office for Students introduced a new regulatory condition in August 2025 requiring universities to have clear reporting routes, mandatory training and proper case management in place.
That may sound like the sort of policy phrase that makes everyone’s eyes glaze over. But beneath the regulatory wording is a very practical point: students need to know how to report harassment, who will handle their case, and what happens next.
The regulator has also confirmed that individual university-level data will be published publicly for the first time in 2027. That will allow institutions to be compared directly with their peers — a prospect likely to concentrate minds in student services departments across the country.
For parents, the message is simple. Do not wait until your child has accepted a place, packed the car and discovered that the kettle does not fit in the kitchen cupboard.
Ask now.
Ask How The University Handles Reports
Every university is now expected to publish clear information about how students can report harassment.
Parents should look for that information on the university website before their child accepts a place. If it is buried somewhere between a PDF from 2018 and a page last updated during the reign of flip phones, that says something.
The key questions are practical rather than dramatic. How are reports made? Who handles them? What is the typical response timeline? Is there a dedicated safeguarding or student conduct team? Are students kept informed throughout the process?
A university that takes student welfare seriously should be able to answer without flapping around like a pigeon in a conservatory.
Check Whether Anonymous Reporting Exists
Many students do not report harassment because they are frightened of being identified, disbelieved, blamed, or dragged into a process they cannot control.
That is why anonymous or confidential reporting routes matter.
Universities and colleges that offer them remove a significant barrier. Parents should ask whether anonymous reporting is available, whether it operates around the clock, and whether it can be accessed outside standard office hours.
Trouble, as most parents know, rarely waits politely until 9am on a Tuesday.
Talk About What Harassment Actually Looks Like
One of the most important conversations may happen before a student leaves home.
Research repeatedly shows that young people, especially those experiencing harassment for the first time, may be unsure whether what happened is “serious enough” to report.
That uncertainty can be paralysing.
Parents do not need to deliver a lecture worthy of a courtroom drama. They simply need to make clear that harassment can take many forms, that their child’s experience is valid, and that asking for help is never an overreaction.
It is also worth making the point plainly: reporting something does not make a student difficult. It makes them protected, supported and heard.
Understand The Subject-Level Risk
The new OfS data shows that risk varies significantly by subject.
Students entering veterinary sciences, medicine, dentistry or language degrees appear in areas where prevalence figures are materially higher than the sector average.
That does not mean those courses are inherently unsafe. It does mean the conversation around reporting routes, pastoral support and safeguarding procedures becomes more important.
Parents are used to asking about accommodation, course rankings and career prospects. Campus safety now belongs on that same list.
Make Sure There Is Support Beyond The University
Some students may not feel able to use their institution’s own reporting system. That may be especially true if the person involved is a member of staff, a senior student, or someone with perceived authority.
Parents should make sure their child knows where to turn outside the university itself.
That includes independent support such as the Student Minds helpline, Rape Crisis England and Wales, and the university’s student union welfare team, which operates independently from university management.
Having those contacts before something happens is not pessimistic. It is practical. Much like packing plasters, chargers and far too many mugs.
Parents Have More Power Than They Think
Ruth Sparkes is co-founder of SaferSpace, a confidential reporting platform built for universities and colleges, and she is also a mother. She believes the OfS data should push parents into a conversation many would instinctively rather avoid.
Sparkes said the OfS data should prompt every parent to have a conversation they might otherwise avoid. “We send our children to university expecting them to be looked after. The data tells us that for a significant number of students, particularly in certain subjects, that expectation is not being met.
“Parents are not powerless here – asking the right questions before results day, and making sure your child knows what to do if something goes wrong, is the most practical thing you can do.”
It is a blunt point, but an important one. Parents cannot control every part of university life. Nor should they try. Students need independence, privacy and room to grow.
But independence should not mean walking blind into a system nobody has checked.
The Questions To Ask Before September
Before accepting a place, parents and prospective students should ask:
- How does the university handle reports of sexual harassment or assault?
- Is anonymous or confidential reporting available?
- Is the reporting route easy to find online?
- Who manages cases once they are reported?
- How long does the university usually take to respond?
- Is support available outside office hours?
- What training do students and staff receive?
- What independent support is available through the student union or external organisations?
These are not awkward questions. They are reasonable ones. A university asking families to trust it with their child should be prepared to explain how that trust is earned.
A New Test For Higher Education
The coming years will place more scrutiny on how universities deal with harassment, assault and student safety. Public university-level data in 2027 will make comparisons unavoidable.
For institutions, that means safeguarding can no longer sit quietly in the policy drawer.
For parents, the lesson is more immediate. Amid the exam nerves, open days and accommodation forms, there is still time to ask the questions that matter.
University should be a place where young people stretch, stumble, learn, grow and occasionally discover that baked beans are not a complete food group.
It should not be a place where students are left unsure how to report harm, who will believe them, or whether anyone will act.
That is the conversation every parent should have before September.