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Office for Students sexual misconduct survey 2025: Analysis of student groups and study contexts

New Data from England’s Higher Education sector shows sexual misconduct remains widespread among students

The Office for Students has released a follow-up analysis to the 2025 Sexual Misconduct Survey, examining how sexual misconduct, reporting behaviour and confidence in reporting vary across different student groups and study contexts.

The findings largely reinforce patterns identified in the main 2025 survey, with differences seen across factors such as gender, sexuality, disability, mental health, age, subject area, and institution type.

Emilytest notes that there are many variables impacting this data, and that the report does not seek to explain why these differences exist - instead, it highlights where patterns are more or less consistent across the sector and strengthens the overall evidence base.

A summary:

• 24% of students reported being subjected to sexual harassment during their time at university
• 1 in 7 students reported sexual assault or violence
• 33% of women reported sexual harassment, compared with 12.2% of men
• 59.1% of students who were subjected to harassment in the last 12 months said at least some incidents took place in a university setting
• Only 13.2% of students who were subjected to harassment made a formal report
• Of those who formally reported, 46.7% said the reporting process was good, 39.3% said it was poor

Demographic breakdown:

Women were significantly more likely to report harassment and assault compared to men.

LGBTQ+ students reported higher rates of sexual misconduct compared with heterosexual students.

Disabled students and students with mental health conditions reported some of the highest rates of harassment.

Higher reported rates were found in subjects including:

• Veterinary sciences
• Medicine and dentistry
• Languages and area studies

EU-domiciled students reported a higher prevalence (31.1%) than UK students (25.1%).

Younger students (especially those under 21) reported higher rates of sexual harassment than older students.

To read the full report, please click here.