Warwick University apologises to victims of rape chat scandal

Independent review finds ‘legacy of mistrust’ after institution’s handling of situation

The University of Warwick has come under fire after students took part in a group chat that included rape threats (Google Street View)

Warwick University’s vice-chancellor has apologised to the victims of a “rape chat” group scandal.

The institution suspended 11 male students last year after screenshots of a private Facebook group chat containing sexually violent messages about their female peers came to light.

Two of the worst perpetrators in the group, which also contained racist and anti-semitic remarks, were initially given a 10-year campus ban but it was later reduced to 12 months after an appeal.

One of the women mentioned in the chat was forced to sit an exam alongside one of the men disciplined in the case despite her own efforts to be placed in a separate room.

Vice chancellor Stuart Croft has now apologised and admitted the university made mistakes in its handling of the situation after the findings of an independent review were published.

He said on Wednesday: “We accept the findings and recommendations made in the review.

“We made mistakes in our handling of the situation, including in how we communicated with the victims and with our community. We wholeheartedly apologise.”

The university launched an investigation last year after one of the women targeted in the chat was shown the messages by one of the men involved.

Two of the victims subsequently made official complaints to the university.

Many of the female victims were close friends with the men who exchanged the messages.

The messages included references to female genital mutilation and gang rape, and some of the men changed their names to those of serial killers and rapists.

An independent review, carried out by Dr Sharon Persaud, found a “legacy of mistrust” at the university.

In the findings published on Wednesday, Dr Persaud noted that the allegations, initially made by two female students, were handled by the university’s director of press and media.

The review found that the university “had been more concerned with its own reputational interests than in a fair or just assessment of the case” – a view echoed by victims of the scandal.

The report recommends that in future complaints of this nature are dealt with by more specialist investigators.