LSE sexual misconduct: the fight goes on

When five women made formal complaints of sexual misconduct against a senior professor at the London School of Economics (LSE), the university botched its investigation and kept him in post.

We were approached by a journalist who brought enough information  – stories and witnesses – to enable us to publish his name.  They, and we, have worked for a number of months to tell their story. We think it’s important to name him so that the LSE is forced to take action – and we think naming him will protect students. 

What’s changed is that witnesses and victims have become more reluctant to publish. This is not uncommon. Persuading yourself that something good might happen is hard. It flies in the face of your experience – of a senior professor’s sexual misconduct, of his employer’s inaction, of its clumsy investigation in the face of multiple complaints. Eventually even the bravest and most determined women ask themselves why they are putting themselves through the mill again. And of what good will really come out of them reliving, once again, in the public domain, what he did.

We crowdfunded to pay for the salary of an investigative journalist to work solely on this case, and we engaged that journalist, and they did the work they promised. Good Law Project is ready to take on the risk of being sued to make sure the truth comes out. And we believe his victims. But we can only tell their stories when they feel safe and ready to share them. For now, we need new women to come forward, or those we know of to change their minds. Without that, we do not think we can name him.

We’re still committed to supporting one woman as she takes action over the way the LSE bungled her complaint. While the LSE has admitted some faults in the original investigation, we plan on escalating the complaint to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education. The money you helped to raise for this case will support her legal costs. 

We are still hopeful that we can find enough information to push us over the line, enabling us to speak publicly about what we know.