A new relationships policy at an Edinburgh university could fails to tackle a “real issue with abuse”, it has been claimed.
Academics at Edinburgh Napier University were recently informed of the new rules, which ‘strongly discourage’, but do not prohibit, relationships with students over the age of 18.
The policy states: “We strongly discourage colleagues from entering personal relationships with students, particularly where the colleague has a direct responsibility for, or involvement in that student’s academic studies and/or personal welfare.”
Staff members are required to disclose any relationships with students, as well as any “close or intimate personal relationship” with fellow staff members.
Edinburgh Napier's Craiglockhart campus (Image: Google)
Intimate relationships with vulnerable people or those under the age of 18 are strictly prohibited, in line with the law.
However, some staff members at Napier have raised concerns that the policy leaves open the possibility of abuse and predatory behaviour.
One academic at the university told The Herald: “In regards to students more generally, relationships are only strongly discouraged – not prohibited or described as professional abuse.
“I think that in an age where we have come through the Me-Too era and we have experienced some high-profile cases of predatory behaviour in higher education, there is an obvious power imbalance in these situations.”
The staff member, who asked to remain anonymous, said that a “zero-tolerance approach” should have been adopted, contending the current policy allows “too much scope for predatory and abusive behaviour”.
While the academic suggested that the student-staff policy is too liberal, they argued that the staff-staff relationship policy is vague and intrusive.
“The policy says that we have to report any personal or intimate relationships with colleagues,” they remarked. “I understand why that might be necessary to avoid conflicts of interest and why that needs to be declared. There needs to be a process.
“However, the words are too vague. It talks about personal and intimate relationships. How intimate is intimate? What do they mean by personal? If I am upset and a colleague consoles me, is that personal? Is that intimate?”
The Herald understands that senior members of the university’s Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) branch were consulted about the potential policy, but no substantial changes were made between that draft and the published policy.
A number of high-profile universities have banned intimate relationships between staff and their students in recent years, including Oxford University in 2023 and University College London in 2020.
