Thread by @DBetterAcademia, Lack of transparency & accountability in universities cause immense harm to people, [...]

Lack of transparency & accountability in universities cause immense harm to people, which for many has long-lasting consequences

This thread lists data & stats to show the scale of wrongdoing in unis

It makes for grim reading & it is only the tip of the iceberg

#BrokenAcademia

SEXUAL MISCONDUCT

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💢" title="Wutsymbol" aria-label="Emoji: Wutsymbol">70% female students (= >1 million students) experienced sexual violence while at uni

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💢" title="Wutsymbol" aria-label="Emoji: Wutsymbol">26% male students (= ~283k students) experienced sexual violence

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💢" title="Wutsymbol" aria-label="Emoji: Wutsymbol">40% students (=1 million students) had at least 1 experience of sexualised behaviour from uni staff

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Millions of students experience sexual misconduct. Yet unis fail students over & over:

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💠" title="Rautenform mit Punkt im Inneren" aria-label="Emoji: Rautenform mit Punkt im Inneren"> >50% students believed that their uni did not respond adequately to their complaint.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💠" title="Rautenform mit Punkt im Inneren" aria-label="Emoji: Rautenform mit Punkt im Inneren">50% of students believed that the uni had denied their experience or made reporting difficult

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RACISM

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⚠️" title="Warnsignal" aria-label="Emoji: Warnsignal">24% of ethnic minority students experience racial harassment

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⚠️" title="Warnsignal" aria-label="Emoji: Warnsignal">In most cases their harasser was another student, but a large number said it was their tutor or academic

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⚠️" title="Warnsignal" aria-label="Emoji: Warnsignal">International students told us about feeling unwelcome, isolated and vulnerable

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https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⚠️" title="Warnsignal" aria-label="Emoji: Warnsignal">>50% of staff described incidents of being ignored or excluded because of their race

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⚠️" title="Warnsignal" aria-label="Emoji: Warnsignal">>25% experienced racist name-calling, insults and jokes.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⚠️" title="Warnsignal" aria-label="Emoji: Warnsignal">Much of this took place in plain sight of colleagues

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⚠️" title="Warnsignal" aria-label="Emoji: Warnsignal">Most incidents were part of a pattern of repeated harassment

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It is worth remembering that:

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⚠️" title="Warnsignal" aria-label="Emoji: Warnsignal"> only 2% of academics are black

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⚠️" title="Warnsignal" aria-label="Emoji: Warnsignal">less than 1% of professors are black

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⚠️" title="Warnsignal" aria-label="Emoji: Warnsignal">there are only 25 black female professors in UK universities

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Are universities effective at dealing with complaints of racism?

In short, absolutely not:

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💠" title="Rautenform mit Punkt im Inneren" aria-label="Emoji: Rautenform mit Punkt im Inneren">students/staff don’t have faith in their unis; complaints process

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💠" title="Rautenform mit Punkt im Inneren" aria-label="Emoji: Rautenform mit Punkt im Inneren">they fear retaliation

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💠" title="Rautenform mit Punkt im Inneren" aria-label="Emoji: Rautenform mit Punkt im Inneren">and consequences to their studies/career

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Students from a “working class” background have reported severe and systemic bullying from staff and other students at several institutions

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https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten">

Students from a “working class” background have reported severe and systemic bullying from staff and other students at several institutions8/https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable=

" title="Students from a “working class” background have reported severe and systemic bullying from staff and other students at several institutions8/https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten">">

LGBT+ DISCRIMINATION

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="‼️" title="Doppeltes Ausrufezeichen" aria-label="Emoji: Doppeltes Ausrufezeichen">14% of students have been the target of negative comments or conduct from staff in the last year because they are LGBT

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="‼️" title="Doppeltes Ausrufezeichen" aria-label="Emoji: Doppeltes Ausrufezeichen">This rises to more than a third of trans students compared to seven per cent of LGB students who don’t identify as trans

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten">

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LGBT+ DISCRIMINATIONhttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable=

14% of students have been the target of negative comments or conduct from staff in the last year because they are LGBThttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="‼️" title="Doppeltes Ausrufezeichen" aria-label="Emoji: Doppeltes Ausrufezeichen">This rises to more than a third of trans students compared to seven per cent of LGB students who don’t identify as transhttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten">9/" title="LGBT+ DISCRIMINATIONhttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="‼️" title="Doppeltes Ausrufezeichen" aria-label="Emoji: Doppeltes Ausrufezeichen">14% of students have been the target of negative comments or conduct from staff in the last year because they are LGBThttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="‼️" title="Doppeltes Ausrufezeichen" aria-label="Emoji: Doppeltes Ausrufezeichen">This rises to more than a third of trans students compared to seven per cent of LGB students who don’t identify as transhttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten">9/">

DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="❌" title="Kreuzzeichen" aria-label="Emoji: Kreuzzeichen">Students with disabilities drop out at higher rates bc of a lack of support.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="❌" title="Kreuzzeichen" aria-label="Emoji: Kreuzzeichen">Of the full-time undergrads who declared a disability, those with mental health conditions had the lowest continuation rate (86.8%) compared to non-disabled students

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GENDER DISCRIMINATION

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⁉️" title="Ausrufe-Fragezeichen" aria-label="Emoji: Ausrufe-Fragezeichen">The gender pay gap in unis is 12%

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⁉️" title="Ausrufe-Fragezeichen" aria-label="Emoji: Ausrufe-Fragezeichen">Women dominate at the early-career ranks, as seniority & salary increase the percentage of women staff decreases. At professor level, less than one quarter of staff are women

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BULLYING

Hundreds of academics have been accused of bullying students & colleagues:

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🔴" title="Roter Kreis" aria-label="Emoji: Roter Kreis">aggressive behaviour

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🔴" title="Roter Kreis" aria-label="Emoji: Roter Kreis">extreme pressure to deliver results
career sabotage

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🔴" title="Roter Kreis" aria-label="Emoji: Roter Kreis">HR managers appearing more concerned about avoiding negative publicity than protecting staff

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BULLYINGHundreds of academics have been accused of bullying students & colleagues:https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable=

aggressive behaviourhttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🔴" title="Roter Kreis" aria-label="Emoji: Roter Kreis">extreme pressure to deliver resultscareer sabotagehttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🔴" title="Roter Kreis" aria-label="Emoji: Roter Kreis">HR managers appearing more concerned about avoiding negative publicity than protecting staff12/" title="BULLYINGHundreds of academics have been accused of bullying students & colleagues:https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🔴" title="Roter Kreis" aria-label="Emoji: Roter Kreis">aggressive behaviourhttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🔴" title="Roter Kreis" aria-label="Emoji: Roter Kreis">extreme pressure to deliver resultscareer sabotagehttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🔴" title="Roter Kreis" aria-label="Emoji: Roter Kreis">HR managers appearing more concerned about avoiding negative publicity than protecting staff12/" class="img-responsive" style="max-width:100%;"/>

SUICIDES

The number of students taking their own lives has overtaken the general population for first time in 2018. The suicide rate among UK students had risen by 56 per cent in the 10 years between 2007 and 2016, from 6.6 to 10.3 per 100,000 people

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RESEARCH MISCODNUCT & FRAUD are common in universities & research institutes and this is particularly dangerous as it can create false results on which other research is built and it weakens the public’s trust in research

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Other wrongdoing that is prevalent in universities

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten">

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15/" title="Other wrongdoing that is prevalent in universities https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten">15/" class="img-responsive" style="max-width:100%;"/>

IMPACT

The effect of university wrongdoing on victims can be devastating:

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✴️" title="Strahlen-Stern" aria-label="Emoji: Strahlen-Stern">It can cause or aggravate mental illness and drive people to suicide

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✴️" title="Strahlen-Stern" aria-label="Emoji: Strahlen-Stern">It can prevent the victim from completing their course, from continuing their job & from finding a job elsewhere in academia

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https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✴️" title="Strahlen-Stern" aria-label="Emoji: Strahlen-Stern">Wrongdoing can be costly for the individual in terms of health and finances, with many students and staff having to use their savings or taking out loans to pay for legal fees.

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https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✴️" title="Strahlen-Stern" aria-label="Emoji: Strahlen-Stern">Ultimately it is the UK taxpayer that finances universities.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✴️" title="Strahlen-Stern" aria-label="Emoji: Strahlen-Stern">Therefore, universities are charging the taxpayers millions - if not billions - every year to cover up their wrongdoing through legal fees, settlements (including NDAs), and higher insurance premiums

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How do unis cover up their wrongdoing?

NDAs are a tool for universities to suppress information that the public would find shocking in order to protect the reputation of the university and of university managers

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According to the information provided by unis, which is likely to be heavily doctored to minimise the full picture:

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⛔️" title="Nicht betreten" aria-label="Emoji: Nicht betreten">Unis used 11k NDAs in 5 years

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⛔️" title="Nicht betreten" aria-label="Emoji: Nicht betreten">2/3 of unis spent 87m on NDAs in 2 years: this is from students& #39; fees & taxpayer& #39;s money

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Through NDAs & instilling fear of retaliation, universities prevent the staff and students of that university, as well as prospective staff & students, from understanding the full extent of wrongdoing and corruption within the university: it is a tool for information control

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NDAs & fear of retaliation allow universities to escape accountability. If there is a known bully, sexual predator or wrongdoer, unis are able to keep this person at the uni without anyone knowing. This means that this person can continue to harm others with impunity

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IN SUMMARY

Uni wrongdoing is endemic because:

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⚠️" title="Warnsignal" aria-label="Emoji: Warnsignal">Unis have a culture where wrongdoing is not only tolerated but covered up

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⚠️" title="Warnsignal" aria-label="Emoji: Warnsignal">Inadequate complaints processes rife with conflicts of interests

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⚠️" title="Warnsignal" aria-label="Emoji: Warnsignal">Fear of repercussions for the complainant

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⚠️" title="Warnsignal" aria-label="Emoji: Warnsignal">No external oversight

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References:

Summary of data: https://www.dobetteracademia.co.uk/index.php/specific-issues/university-wrongdoing-data">https://www.dobetteracademia.co.uk/index.php...

Staff Exploitation: https://www.dobetteracademia.co.uk/index.php/specific-issues/staff-exploitation">https://www.dobetteracademia.co.uk/index.php...

Whistleblowing in HE: https://www.dobetteracademia.co.uk/index.php/specific-issues/whistleblowing-in-universities">https://www.dobetteracademia.co.uk/index.php...

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Whistleblowing in universities

Do Better Academia's Response to the Consultation on the APPG “Whistleblowing” Report 1. Overview: 1.1 The Higher Education...

https://www.dobetteracademia.co.uk/index.php/specific-issues/university-wrongdoing-data

MEDIA ARCHIVES

Sexual misconduct: https://www.dobetteracademia.co.uk/index.php/university-wrongdoing/university-sexual-misconduct-in-the-media">https://www.dobetteracademia.co.uk/index.php...

Discrimination: https://www.dobetteracademia.co.uk/index.php/university-wrongdoing/discrimination-in-universities">https://www.dobetteracademia.co.uk/index.php...

Bullying: https://www.dobetteracademia.co.uk/index.php/university-wrongdoing/bullying-in-universities">https://www.dobetteracademia.co.uk/index.php...

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Bullying in Universities Articles

Bullying in Universities - Media Archive

https://www.dobetteracademia.co.uk/index.php/university-wrongdoing/university-sexual-misconduct-in-the-media

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