UCL Men’s Hockey player suspended after allegedly sexually assaulting a student

A member of UCL Men’s Hockey Club (UCLMHC) has been suspended pending investigation after allegedly sexually assaulting a student.

The alleged assault took place on Wednesday 18th November at the reopening of sports night at Scala Nightclub in Kings Cross.

While the alleged perpetrator of the assault has not responded to request for comment, UCLMHC said in a statement: “We are aware of the allegations surrounding a member of the club.”

“We are horrified to hear of these allegations and have offered our full and continued support to the affected individual. The member in question has been suspended from the club while the investigation is ongoing.”

UCLMHC statement released on Instagram

UCLMHC told The London Tab: “This incident has been referred to Students Union UCL who are now investigating in line with their procedures.”

UCLMHC has signed the zero tolerance to sexual harassment pledge to fight sexual misconduct. This is in addition to the TeamUCL against Hate Pledge which covers all forms of discrimination, bullying and harassment.

UCL Students’ Union has released the following statement:

“We have been made aware of an incident on 17 November during Sports Night at Scala. While we cannot comment on an ongoing investigation, we are in contact with the venue who we are confident dealt with the incident appropriately and supported those affected on the night.

 We have zero tolerance for any form of sexual misconduct and are committed to providing safe events for our members. Alongside our Active Bystander training, we have recently developed additional training on Tackling Sexual violence for Club and Society committee members which we are encouraging all groups to attend.”

Scala has been contacted for comment.

This has not been the first time that sexual assault allegations have been made at UCL’s Sports Night. A sexual assault allegation was also made against a member of staff at Loop (the previous venue for Sports nights) less than two weeks ago.

The member of staff was investigated by the police for allegedly sexually assaulting a student. In a statement released at the time, Loop said it was aware of the incident and was co-operating with the police investigation.

The new venue for UCL Sports Night was announced soon after the nationwide Girls Night In Campaign. Team UCL partnered with Scala and Milkshake to ensure the safety of students attending.

Measures put in place included members of security and a medic at the safe space all night which is located in the foyer bar, regular welfare checks throughout the venue and all bar staff having completed welfare and vulnerability engagement training.

A YouGov poll found that 72 per cent of young people have witnessed sexual harassment in some form at bars, pubs or clubs during a night out. If you have experienced something like this, please see more information from the NHS or Met Police on next steps.

UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Team: Same-day appointments are available with the Disability, Mental Health and Wellbeing team. To book an appointment to speak to an adviser, please submit an enquiry through askUCL and a member of our team will be in touch, or call +44 (0)20 7679 0100.

Care First provides online and telephone counselling and advice available 24/7 (students abroad can use the Global Student Assistance Programme).

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• TeamUCL moves Sports Night from Loop to Scala

• Police investigate London nightclub employee for allegedly sexually assaulting a student

• London’s non-clubbers of the week: A Night In sports societies special