Tackling violence, harassment and hate incidents 2025

Professor Nic Beech is the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Salford and was previously Vice-Principal at the University of St Andrews, Provost of Dundee University and Vice-Chancellor of Middlesex University. He is Chair of the Quality Council for UK Higher Education and Treasurer and on the Board of Universities UK. He was previously Treasurer and on the Board of the Academy of Social Sciences and Chair of Access HE. Nic is currently a member of the Secretary of State’s Curriculum and Assessment Review panel for England.

Nic’s academic field is business and management and his research focused on identity, change and educational leadership. His awards from Learned Societies include, at a national level, the Lifetime Achievement in Research Award and at an international level, the Exceptional Service to the Field of Management Worldwide Award. He was the longest-serving president of the British Academy of Management.

Suzanne joined the Office for Students in November 2023 as the Head of Student Equality and Welfare. She leads policy teams focused on Access and Participation, Harassment and Sexual Misconduct and Mental Health and Wellbeing as well as leading the teams that deliver the NSS, Discover Uni and wider student insight work. Before joining the Office for Students, she worked for more than 15 years in the higher education sector. She is also a governor of a large multi academy trust in Bristol and until recently was a trustee of a charity supporting young people from under-served and disadvantaged communities.

Dr Shames Maskeen is the Associate Director of The Race Institute and Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Leeds Trinity University. The Race Institute emerged directly from his leadership role in driving Leeds Trinity University to become the first University in Yorkshire to achieve the Race Equality Charter Bronze award and the need to keep anti-racism on the national agenda to enable sustained transformational change. He has been instrumental in ensuring that The Race Institute delivers its aim to improve the experiences of racialised minorities in the public, private and voluntary sectors through research, professional development and knowledge exchange. 

Shames is a member of the Born in Bradford’s Centre for Applied Education Research group, Co-Chairs the Race Equity Network at Go Higher West Yorkshire, is an Associate for Race Equality at Advance HE and member of the Secure Date Environment Group. His research focusses on solving racial inequities and the intersections of class, culture, religion, and gender experienced by racialised minorities in Higher Education and beyond. He is passionate about anti-racism leadership and more importantly in actionable change to make a real difference and equitable world for young people.

Nadira Mirza is Professor of Lifelong Learning and Social Mobility and the Director of the Race Institute at Leeds Trinity University (LTU). She is also the Deputy Chair of Airedale Hospitals Foundation Trust. She was formerly the Dean of the School of Lifelong Education and Development and the Director of Student Experience and Success at the University of Bradford, where she was instrumental in developing widening participation and access programmes in higher education for first generation scholars and mature learners. Nadira has been a member of several national and international boards charged with transforming health and education outcomes, these include the Office for Students’, Widening Participation Strategy Committee, the Prime Minister’s Social Mobility Advisory Reference Group, and the NHSI/E Seacole Group. Nadira has worked with Born in Bradford since the study was first initiated, co-chairing the family advocacy group. She is also a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and has published in the field of lifelong learning, race, equity, and inclusion.

Halima Dagia is an Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Manager with a focus on workforce and population health inequalities. She also serves as Co-Chair of the National NHS Muslim Network. With over 14 years of experience in the NHS across patient-facing and workforce-focused roles, including Senior Complaints Coordinator and BAME Strategy Project Lead, she is committed to driving impactful change. 

Halima has been widely recognized for her contributions to EDI, earning multiple accolades, including being named a Hidden GEM in the 75@75 list, one of the Top 50 Influential Muslims in Europe, and winning the Outstanding Achievement of the Year Award at the National BAME Health and Care Awards.

Rowan leads on UUK policy work on supporting access to higher education, enhancing the student experience, and how universities contribute to the skills agenda.

Before joining UUK in 2020, he worked in widening participation and admissions at Oxford Brookes University.

Dr Emma Young is Deputy Director of Student Services (Health and Wellbeing) at Manchester Metropolitan University where she has worked since March 2023. Emma leads on services including Student Welfare and Pastoral Services, Counselling, Mental Health and Wellbeing Services and Sport. As part of her role, Emma chairs the University’s Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Operational Group and the Substance Use Policy Group, driving forward work on all forms of harassment and sexual misconduct alongside harm reduction approaches to substance use.

Prior to joining Manchester Met, Emma worked in senior management roles at several other HEIs in the UK, including most recently at the University of Bradford where, as Associate Director Student Success and Wellbeing, she was the project lead for an OfS-funded project examining South Asian student perceptions and experiences of mental health support and held senior responsibilities for all student support services. 

Helen Munro has over 17 years of experience in the HE sector and is currently Student Casework Manager at Bangor University where she is responsible for leading the institution's response to sexual misconduct, violence and harassment. Helen is also responsible for disciplinary and fitness/suitability to practice processes at the University and manages a response service for survivors of all forms of violence. Prior to joining the the sector in 2007, Helen worked within the supported housing sector, primarily with young people who had experienced sexual or domestic violence. Helen is also a qualified teacher, and uses her skills to develop engaging training and learning opportunities for staff and students at the university. Helen was awarded a Teaching Fellowship in 2024 for her body of work in educating the University's students and staff in the prevention of sexual violence and harassment and was awarded Staff Support Member of the Year in 2023 and 2024 in the university's Student Led Teaching Awards.

Charlotte Taylor is a Diversity and Inclusion Specialist dedicated to fostering inclusive workplaces and communities. With a background in student support and training in Higher Education, Charlotte leads Culture Shift's Training Academy, developing impactful programmes to combat bullying, harassment, and sexual misconduct. Over the past year, Charlotte has partnered with 26 Higher Education institutions, equipping them with the skills and best practices needed to address and prevent bullying, harassment, and sexual misconduct. Charlotte supports organisations using Culture Shift’s online reporting and case management platform, helping them to drive meaningful cultural change through data-driven insights and proactive interventions.

Andrea is an accomplished leader in higher education, currently serving as the Director of Student Life and Deputy Director of Student and Academic Services at the University of Glasgow. She has held key roles at the University of Queensland, including Director of Student Services and Acting Academic Registrar. She implemented innovative strategies, including service automation, sexual misconduct prevention and response, early warning systems, learning analytics, and 24/7 crisis support. She is also a Director of the International Association of Student Affairs and Services (IASAS). Passionate about diversity, inclusion, and continuous improvement, Andrea is dedicated to creating thriving environments for students and staff.

‘Elysia is Co-Founder and Managing Director of The Egalitarian, creators of Spike Report and the Safe Place Project. The Egalitarian is a community-led organisation seeking to tackle systemic injustice against marginalised groups. 

We are data-led and perpetrator focussed, conducting community research with victims, young people, marginalised groups and the wider community that use the night time economy to inform our work to improve night out safety. 

The Egalitarian is a leading expert on night time economy safety, providing training sessions and workshops to key stakeholders and actors in the industry. We have been leading the activism that is ensuring spiking is made a standalone criminal offence in 2025 and assisting with government discussions on how the legislation should take form. 

Our Safe Place Project raises awareness of previously normalised harmful behaviours, such as spiking, sexual violence, domestic abuse and hate crimes. We are unique in that the training and skills we provide and encourage in workshops are not only in relation to identifying harm and responding in a victim-led, trauma informed manner, we specialise in harm prevention to deter perpetrators from acting and empowerment tools to encourage victim reporting. We are a team of victims ourselves, and we ensure victims’ voices are heard in every initiative we undertake.

We trained and certify pubs, bars, clubs, events companies, festivals, student’s unions and universities (as well as student union bars, committees and venues) as part of our Safe Place Project.’

Della Claydon is the Co-founder and Managing Director of The Egalitarian, a social enterprise tackling social injustice within society, focusing on the provision of training to identify, prevent and respond to sexual violence, spiking and hate incidents and hate crimes.  

After COVID-19 when there was increasing reports of spiking, specifically spiking by injection, The Egalitarian launched Spike Report - the first publicly viewable spiking database in the UK which now holds over 500 reported incidents. 

Della was a victim of spiking and sexual violence whilst she was studying in Newcastle and uses her experiences, as well as the experiences and voices of other victims, to inform both universities and establishments in the night time economy of how they can improve safety standards surrounding these harmful incidents. 

Currently, The Egalitarian uses their platform to direct legislative change in this area and have attended Home Office roundtables and discussions with MPs to make spiking a standalone criminal offence.

Alexandria Jones is a passionate advocate for student safety, currently serving as the Vice President Community and Wellbeing sabbatical officer at Liverpool John Moores Students’ Union (JMSU). In this role, she has been instrumental in implementing comprehensive safety initiatives and support systems, significantly enhancing the wellbeing of the student body at LJMU.

Alexandria's dedication to student safety is exemplified by her leadership in organising Liverpool's first "Reclaim the Night" march since 2020 and working with organisations such as The Egalitarian to provide anti-spiking and anti-sexual violence training for LJMU students. She has also collaborated with local authorities and Liverpool City Council to improve night-time safety measures and increase awareness around student welfare.

With a background in Psychology and a passion for advocacy, Alexandria has consistently worked to create a safe and supportive environment for all students, ensuring that student safety and wellbeing is prioritised at LJMU.

Ammaarah Faisal is a gender-based violence campaigner and women and girls’ advocate. She has experience working in a sexual harassment prevention organisation, where she compiled research and reports into student safety, held panel events with academics and practitioners, and gave oral evidence at the Women and Equalities Select Committee inquiry into attitudes towards women and girls in educational settings. 

Ammaarah’s educational background is in Forensic Psychology, with specialties in sexual violence and stalking, such as publications regarding navigating victimisation in the digital age. Ammaarah currently leads the This Girl Can campaign in Birmingham, advocating for marginalised and vulnerable women and girls and tackling health and social inequalities to increase activity levels.

Dr Sarah Sweeney is Vice-Chair of AMOSSHE and Head of Student Support and Wellbeing at Lancaster University, where she leads the delivery of student wellbeing services and support, including safeguarding, incident support, counselling and mental health, disability, transitions, inclusive practice and student advice and engagement. 

Sarah has over 20 years of experience working in the HE sector and is passionate about driving forward positive change to improve equality of opportunity and support diversity and inclusion, ensuring high quality support to all communities of students and championing digital innovation to improve the student and staff experience.

Fiona Drouet MBE is the founder and CEO of the charity, EmilyTest. At 18 years of age, her daughter Emily took her own life after being subjected to a relentless campaign of physical, psychological and sexual abuse by a fellow student while living and studying at University. Emily’s tragic death was the result of a series of preventable failures. 

Since, EmilyTest has been successfully campaigning to raise awareness of Gender Based Violence (GBV) and stimulate change in policy, professional practice, intervention and support in Scottish education. Working closely with the Scottish Government, Universities, Colleges, Police Scotland, UCU and the third sector, Fiona continues to guide the sector towards safer campuses for all students to live, work and study in. 

Funded by the Scottish Government, EmilyTest developed the world's first evidence-based GBV Charter for Universities and Colleges. The Charter serves as a key driver in encouraging institutions to continually strive for excellence in GBV prevention, intervention, and support. Ensuring equal opportunity for every student, regardless of the university they study in, the Charter will also commence a pilot in England in 2025 and be expanded to account for GBV impacting staff too.

Rosie has been the Independent Sexual Violence Adviser at Oxford University since September 2023. She is employed by the local Rape Crisis centre Survivor Space Oxfordshire but funded by Oxford University and tasked with providing an advocacy service for students of all age groups and genders. There are three main categories of university ISVA support: advocacy throughout the criminal justice process, advocacy with reporting to the college and central university, and emotional support. . Rosie previously worked as a teacher in a girls’ school in Colombia before joining the VAWG sector. She was inspired to work in the sector from this experience due to learning more about the current issues affecting teenage girls in the 21st century.

Oluwadamilola Iyanda is a dynamic leader and advocate for inclusive and transformative education. With a deep passion for policy innovation and student engagement, she has played a pivotal role in shaping strategies that foster equity, diversity, and academic excellence. Her work bridges the gap between institutional leadership and student experience, ensuring that universities cultivate environments where all learners thrive.

As a thought leader, Oluwadamilola has contributed to groundbreaking initiatives that enhance access to quality education and empower future generations. She is recognized for her ability to drive impactful discussions on global higher education trends, policy reforms, and community-driven solutions.

At the Universities UK Conference, Oluwadamilola intends to bring her expertise and vision to the forefront, inspiring stakeholders to rethink education's role in societal progress. Her insights continue to shape the future of higher education, making her an invaluable voice in today’s academic landscape.

Charlotte Woodward is Head of Training & Development at the National Centre for Domestic Violence (NCDV), an organisation that helps thousands of people each year obtain civil protection orders through the courts. Charlotte has three decades of experience in the domestic abuse sector working extensively with survivors and perpetrators, as well as holding local and national leadership roles. Charlotte has an MA in Domestic & Sexual Violence and is currently studying for a PhD in the subject, and she continues to survive and thrive after her own experiences of childhood and teenage relationship abuse.

Dr Jennifer Fraser is Principal Lecturer in the School of Social Sciences as well as University Director of Student Partnership in the Centre for Education and Teaching Innovation at the University of Westminster. They teach gender studies and critical education studies, and their research interests are at the intersections of literature, gender studies, queer theory and critical pedagogies. Commitments to anti-racist and decolonising practices are at the heart of Jennifer’s approach to teaching and research. They are a National Teaching Fellow and a founding member of the Critical Pedagogies Group (https://criticalpedagogiesproject.com), the Pedagogies for Social Justice Project (https://blog.westminster.ac.uk/psj/) and the Non-Binary Genders in Higher Education: Lived Experiences, Imagined Futures project (https://nbinhe.com). 

Saranya Thambirajah is a 23-year-old activist and Vice Preside of Liberation & Equality at the National Union of Students. Prior to joining NUS UK, Saranya was Equality, Liberation and Access Officer at Bristol University Students Union for 2 years. Saranya’s work focuses on representing and empowering marginalised students, facilitating community relations in the student movement, and bringing liberation issues to the forefront of higher education. One of her key focuses as an officer has been campaigning for trans and non-binary students, with this becoming one of NUS UK’s priorities for the coming year, which she will be leading on.  

Josh is Policy Manager at HEPI. His work has included research on the experiences of trans and non-binary students, a minimum income standard for students, artificial intelligence, foundation year courses and student debating unions. Alongside this policy work, Josh is responsible for managing the HEPI blog. He previously worked as a Maths and Politics teacher in London on the Teach First programme and has since completed a master’s degree in Global Governance and Diplomacy at the University of Oxford.

Ben has over 30 years’ experience working in the charity sector and was formerly CEO at Leap Confronting Conflict. He began his career at Terrence Higgins Trusts, and since then, Ben has helped hundreds of charities to thrive. His previous roles included Group Chief Executive of the National Union of Students and Deputy Chief Executive at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations. He has extensive non-executive experience and is currently Vice-Chair of The Henry Smith Charity, a large charitable foundation.

Mohammed Ali Amla is SNS’ Youth and Partnerships Director, leading on youth empowerment, strategic partnership development and community collaborations. He is an experienced networker responsible for developing new partnerships for SNS across civil society, the education sector, academia, local authorities and communities. He has dedicated his life to bridge-building, interfaith, countering Islamophobia and anti-racism. Participating in the Zajel international youth exchange programme and volunteering at Askar refugee camp in Nablus, Palestine was a life-changing experience that caused Ali to pursue a path of peacebuilding and conflict resolution.

He has over 20 years’ experience working with communities, the public and private sector. Ali is a multipotentialite, having worked as a researcher, educator, practitioner, activist and executive coach to empower communities to create social innovation and change. His specialisations are in creating safe spaces for difficult dialogue, leadership development, think spaces, strategic development, knowledge exchange and delivering inclusion and diversity training.  He is a guest lecturer on peace leadership, active citizenship, cohesion, interfaith, Islamophobia, Antisemitism, the far right, media and community empowerment. Ali is writing a book on interfaith, exploring the challenges to interfaith and finding a new approach to building bridges.

Ali is an alumni of the IVLP, Clore Fellow, and the founder of Christian Muslim Encounters, which aims to foster good relations and build bridges across communities, academia, policy and civil society.

Jo Nuckley is the Head of Outreach and Insight at the OIA, leading a team with responsibility for sharing learning from the OIA’s casework, and ensuring that casework is informed by the wider sector context. Jo also has responsibility for data protection and knowledge management following an early career in information legislation at The National Archives.

Nicola leads four key professional services teams at Coventry University Group including the Legal team and the Student Disciplinary, Complaints and Appeals team.  Before joining Coventry, Nicola spent 15 years at Pinsent Masons LLP heading up the contentious universities practice.  She has therefore advised many different providers across a range of issues including dealing with complex and high value matters that are reputationally threatening. Nicola has a particular specialism in student matters and wrote the 2016 UUK/Pinsent Masons Guidance on How To Handle Alleged Student Misconduct together with the supplemental UUK/Coventry University Case Studies that were published in March 2024.  Nicola has also contributed to other UUK publications in this area including Sharing Personal Data In Harassment Cases and Tackling Staff-to-Student Sexual Misconduct.