Degrees of danger
High Principals , Issue 1663 AT THE height of the #MeToo movement in 2021, Oxford University students formed their own campaign, It Happens Here Too, to highlight how the autonomous collegiate system, poor investigatory processes and traditional culture were enabling sexual predators.

Four years later, whistleblowers and campaigners claim little has changed.

In September, the dean of Oxford's prestigious Saïd Business School, Soumitra Dutta, left suddenly after a four-month absence for sick leave, with an unblemished record and thanks for his contributions.

It has emerged that an internal investigation had upheld three counts of harassment after he propositioned a junior academic when she went to him for support having reported being raped.

Warning sign
Insiders have told Private Eye the university knew when it hired Dutta that he had also stepped down suddenly from a deanship at New York's Cornell University in 2018, that time with no thanks and no explanation. Dutta said he resigned from the US post for personal reasons and was not asked to leave Oxford or offered any settlement.

In a statement through lawyers at Carter-Ruck, Dutta said: "I have always championed the cause of women leaders in business and society in many ways including through special scholarships and programs. I take all allegations of harassment extremely seriously and throughout the investigation process, I consistently affirmed my commitment to the expectations of the university in its harassment policy.

"I deeply regret causing any distress or offence by anything I said, and it was never my intention to be anything other than supportive of my former colleague."

Culture of indifference
Senior sources have branded Oxford's recruitment and reporting processes as irresponsible at best, part of a wider culture of indifference at worst.

One said: "The way this case has been managed has been appalling. We need to know what due diligence was done. Knowing of his unresolved, hasty departure from Cornell, senior leaders went into defensive mode when an allegation was made against him here."

A friend of the victim told the Eye the woman had gone to Dutta for advice because she was living in fear of an emeritus professor she kept seeing around the university after she reported him to the university accusing him of rape. The woman is challenging Thames Valley Police's decision not to send the rape case to the Crown Prosecution Service, through both the victims' right to review scheme and a judicial review.

Passing the buck
Dr Anna Bull, a senior lecturer at York University and spokesperson for the 1752 Group, campaigning for action against sexual misconduct in higher education, said universities including Oxford often lacked effective recruitment protocols and processes for handling reported incidents, enabling academics under investigation to move to other universities or even other countries to continue the same behaviour.

An Oxford University spokesperson said: "We reject any suggestion that the university tolerates harassment or does not prioritise people's safety. While we cannot comment on individual cases, we are committed to continuous improvement and have strengthened our approach over recent years."