To make a fairer and more inclusive University a reality, we have a range of events, advice, and support for our staff, students, visitors and the wider university community, including guidance about how to report bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct.
Here you will find our EDI Calendar of Events, as well as policies, advice and guidance on a number of topics, aimed at creating a fairer and more inclusive University. If there are other EDI-related topics you would like more information about, please contact us on edi@lancaster.ac.uk.
Explore the Lancaster University Reasonable Adjustment Passport and its accompanying resources.
Reasonable Adjustment PassportAcross the year there are a range of awareness-raising and celebration dates which directly relate to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. Our EDI Calendar of Events pulls together these dates and provides information on how members of the Lancaster community can get involved in EDI-related networks and activities.
Document last updated 22nd February 2023.
LUREN (Lancaster University Race Equality Network) has developed an Anti-Racist Learning and Teaching Toolkit, a practical document to help colleagues understand racism both in general and as it relates to their area of research and teaching. For more information please see the Anti-Racist Toolkit.
At Lancaster, we promote a zero-tolerance approach to bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct. It reflects an approach in which the University will proactively work to educate and inform, as well as taking all accusations seriously and acting on them appropriately without preconception or bias. Our policies on bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct aim to assist in the promotion of an inclusive and constructive environment on campus, as well as in external relationships connected with the University, in which bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct are recognised as unacceptable. It is also designed to give individuals the confidence to complain in the knowledge that their complaints will be taken seriously and due process followed in resolving the matter.
What do we mean by bullying and harassment?
Bullying or harassment is behaviour or actions that are unwelcome, unwarranted and cause a detrimental effect to the wellbeing of the victim. Harassment, bullying and sexual misconduct can also apply to a group of people as well as individuals.
Bullying
Bullying may be characterised as offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour and abuse or misuse of power through means that undermine, humiliate, upset, threaten, denigrate or injure the recipient and can make a person feel vulnerable. This can be either physical or psychological in nature.
Some examples of bullying include (but are not limited to):
Harassment
Harassment, as an element of bullying, is specifically defined under the Equality Act 2010. as unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic that has the purpose or effect, assessed from the individual’s perspective, of violating dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading or humiliating environment for that individual. It can include unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct.
Some examples of harassment include (but are not limited to):
Sexual misconduct/harassment
Sexual misconduct is a broad term used to encompass a range of behaviours including sexual harassment, non-consensual sexual contact (sexual assault), and non-consensual sexual penetration (rape).
Victimisation
Victimisation is when a person is mistreated because they have made a complaint of discrimination, harassment or bullying or have supported another person in making a complaint.
Further details on the definitions are available in our policies:
Reporting and Support for Staff
If you feel that you have experienced bullying, harassment or sexual misconduct, a range of options are available to you, including:
Further details are set out in our Bullying, Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Policy (see link above) - Staff (internal only).
Reporting and Support for Students
If you feel you have experienced or witnessed behaviours such as abuse, bullying, discrimination, harassment, hate crime, racism, sexual harassment or violence, we urge you to report this to the University, Lancaster University Students’ Union and/or the Police.
For more information on how to report an incident please visit the Bullying, Harassment, discrimination and sexual misconduct page.
The notion of decolonising education is a recognised and valued area of scholarship which has attracted a significant amount interest for some time in both academic and policy circles. It relates to the recognition that knowledge and practices in Higher Education have often been formed and shaped by aspects of Western colonialism and racism, and this makes Higher Education an exclusionary social and intellectual space.
Decolonising raises a complex set of questions that go beyond merely extending reading lists and it requires us to think about the very nature of the power relations in the classroom and supervisory spaces, the forms and effects of the assessments, literatures, theories and methodologies we promote, as well as how we interact with fellow scholars, students and other universities.
It is about acknowledging the legacies of slavery, colonialism, racism and empire by addressing systemic inequalities relating to all aspects of Higher Education – curriculum, admissions, recruitment, promotions, publishing, staff and student mobility, rankings, research funding, engagement, collaborations, teaching and learning practices.
This undertaking is not something that can be achieved overnight - it requires a long-term collective effort. Although some work has already been done on this front at Lancaster University, especially by students, it has often been in isolated pockets. In 2019, Dr Sunita Abraham and Dr Richard Budd formed a staff-student network to create a more coordinated approach to decolonising. Today, the Decolonising Lancaster University (DLU) network has grown to over 400 members, including professional service staff and students.
The Decolonising Lancaster University Website provides a reference source for members, events and initiatives; if you would like to become involved, please contact decolonisinglu@lancaster.ac.uk
Please also see the Lancaster University Race Equality Network (LUREN) for other related work at the university.
Helpful Links:
Reasonable adjustments and support for staff
We are a Disability Confident Employer and we work with our Occupational Health service and external schemes, e.g. Access to Work and Able Futures, to ensure that reasonable adjustments are made for our colleagues, where there are barriers to inclusion at work. If you require reasonable adjustments, please discuss these with your line manager.
Further guidance
Reasonable adjustments and support for students
Our Student Wellbeing Services offer a range of support and guidance to disabled students. For information on the range of support available, please visit our Disability Service pages:
Digital Accessibility
Advice and support for our staff and students are available to enable them to overcome difficulties in using IT equipment, accessing information or producing accessible materials. Further information is available on our Information and Security Services' Digital Accessibility help and training pages, including:
Campus Accessibility
Accessibility on campus is managed by our Facilities Team. To find the most accessible routes on campus, please visit AccessAble. This website allows you to check for accessible toilets, lifts and other features to assist you when on campus.
What is a Hidden Disability?
A hidden disability is a disability that is not immediately obvious, as they do not have physical signs. For instance, learning difficulties, mental health, as well as mobility, speech, visual or hearing impairments, can be considered hidden disabilities.
If you wish to know more about hidden disabilities, check this video:
We recognise that juggling caring responsibilities with work and study can be a challenge. Caring for a child, disabled or elderly parents, or other adult dependents such as a family member or friend can take both a physical and emotional toll on the caregiver. The activities provided by a carer vary widely and the staff or student carer may be living with the person they provide care for or may have to travel to attend to their caring responsibilities.
Our Parents' and Carers' Network has put together a list of resources to support those with caring responsibilities.
If you have caring responsibilities, please discuss this, in confidence, with your line manager, your college or department to help identify available support if required.
Further guidance:
We are committed to trans equality and inclusion, as members of the Stonewall Global Diversity Champions programme and the Athena SWAN Charter. We have developed a policy and guidance for staff and students to recognise and support everyone's gender identity and expression and to ensure an inclusive, trans-friendly workplace, learning environment and culture, where everyone can thrive and fulfil their potential free from discrimination, bullying, harassment or victimisation.
Our trans work has been developed with Lancaster University Students' Union, our LGBT Staff Network and colleagues across the University and with support from external experts at Stonewall and Lancashire LGBT. The Guidance introduces a system of Key Contacts that you can turn to for advice if you are a trans student or member of staff.
If you are a student, for queries on change of names requests you can also refer to the Student Records team in the Student Registry, by sending an email at recordsenquiries@lancaster.ac.uk.
If you are a member of staff, you can contact your line manager or require the support of your People and OE Advisor.
Please note the following policy and guidance is currently undergoing its bi-annual review for updates and amendments. If you have any questions or would like to be involved with the review please contact the EDI Team at edi@lancaster.ac.uk.
Gender Neutral facilities
Our Facilities team has put together a list of gender-neutral facilities with the help of Lancaster University Women+ Forum and LGBTQ+ Staff Network, and added them to Maze Maps. You can find over 220 facilities across the Bailrigg campus.
Lancaster University’s LGBTQIA+ Ally Network exists to create, promote and champion safe and supportive environments, events and communities for lesbian, gay, bi, trans, non-binary, queer, intersex, asexual or questioning (LGBTQIA+) staff and students through practising active allyship.
The network aims to be an effective place to raise awareness of LGBTQIA+ issues, raise the profile of LGBTQIA+ allies, and ensure that there are visible ally role models at different levels of the organisation. The LGBTQIA+ Ally Network primarily works to provide a safe and supportive working environment for staff and students who define as LGBTQIA+ and to its members by sharing experiences and best practice through holding regular meetings, attending events and communicating with members and Lancaster University staff and students on LGBTQIA+ issues.
Our initiatives:
To become an LGBTQIA+ Ally in your department, please email lgbtqiaally@lancaster.ac.uk.
Once you sign up as an Ally, you can have access to resources that can assist you in familiarising yourself with your role. You will also participate in an induction session held by the Ally Network lead and members of the LGBT Staff Network. Induction session and network meeting dates are posted in the LGBTQIA+ Allies Microsoft Teams channel. Induction sessions are recorded for allies who cannot attend.
Widening participation aims to ensure that the higher education sector is an open and inclusive environment, representative of the society we live in. Here at Lancaster University, we believe in presenting all individuals, regardless of background, with the opportunity to access and succeed in higher education and beyond. Our widening participation activities aim to support under-represented groups to enter higher education, as well as support students currently studying at university to succeed in their studies and progress onto graduate employment or further study. Visit our Widening Participation Strategy pages for further details.
Further information and support is available here:
To promote a fairer and more inclusive workplace at Lancaster, we have a range of EDI-related eLearning courses for our staff.
EDI eLearning courses
This panel displays events of type "Equality, Diversity and Inclusion" from the "University Event Home Page" channel
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