University awards on tackling gender-based violence ‘could lead to policy shift’

Anglia Ruskin University and the University of Warwick are the first two English institutions to receive the EmilyTest GBV Charter award, after their involvement in a pilot project.

The EmilyTest Charter was created in memory of Emily Drouet, an 18-year-old student who was subjected to a sustained campaign of gender-based violence by a fellow student and who tragically later took her own life. It has been operating for the last five years for Scottish universities.

Stephanie Connelly, an expert in higher education disputes with Pinsent Masons, said the achievement by the universities in securing charter status highlights a difference in how gender-based violence is addressed across different parts of the UK.

“In Scotland, gender‑based violence is a recognised and embedded policy framework across the higher education sector, with sector‑wide expectations and alignment to Scottish government definitions,” she explained.

“In England, by contrast, there is no equivalent standalone regulatory concept of gender‑based violence in the same way; institutions have addressed these issues through broader harassment, sexual misconduct and safeguarding frameworks.

“From a legal and regulatory perspective, English universities are already subject to duties under the Equality Act 2010, as well as evolving regulatory expectations - including the OfS Condition E6 which came into force in August 2025 in relation to harassment and sexual misconduct.

“However, these do not require institutions to adopt a gender‑based violence framing as such, nor to align with a charter‑based external accreditation model.

“As a result, activity in this space has historically been less explicitly framed as GBV and more focused on compliance‑driven policies and procedures.”

The EmilyTest Charter, which comprises five principles and a defined set of minimum standards for institutions to achieve, was drawn up in collaboration between students, academic staff and violence against women and girls professionals from across the UK, with those taking part receiving mentoring and training on better improving their GBV support. The EmilyTest Charter was launched on 21 May and is now open to universities in England.

Warwick and Anglia Ruskin are the first two universities outside Scotland to achieve charter status under the programme, following a pilot programme involving five English institutions which helped shape and take the charter to its next phase.

Julian Sladdin, a higher education expert with Pinsent Masons, said the award to English institutions could drive broader change across the sector.

“Warwick’s achievement of the EmilyTest Charter signals a potential shift and may begin to shape expectations of what good practice looks like, particularly in areas such as institutional culture, prevention, and survivor‑centred responses,” he explained.

“If the charter gains traction, it could generate soft‑law pressure across the sector, including from students, governing bodies, and potentially regulators, for universities to demonstrate comparable levels of assurance and external scrutiny.

“While England does not currently operate within a defined GBV policy framework as Scotland does, developments of this kind suggest the direction of travel. Universities in England should be alive to the possibility that areas not previously foregrounded in quite this way may become a greater focus - whether through regulatory evolution, sector practice, or stakeholder expectation.”