We are aware that a former student, Zhenhao Zou, is facing a number of serious sexual assault charges.
We understand allegations of this nature are deeply distressing, and our priority is to support our students, alumni, staff, and wider community.
Due to the risk of prejudicing criminal proceedings, we are unable to say anything about the case at this time.
It is incredibly important that nothing UCL or its community does jeopardises the trial.
Due to the risk of prejudicing criminal proceedings, we are not able to comment further at this time. See more information on Contempt of Court rules on the UK Government website.
How can our community access support?
Our absolute priority is to do everything that we can to support our community.We know that allegations of this nature are deeply distressing, and we have extensive support services that are available 24/7 for any students, alumni or staff impacted by this, directly or indirectly.
Supporting staff
Staff affected by sexual violence or by this news can access confidential, free mental health and wellbeing support at any time through the Employee Assistance Programme. You can call 0808 196 5808 to speak to a professional counsellor or information specialist in confidence.Workplace Health have resources here , including information on emotional health and wellbeing and services such as Mental Health First Aid-trained staff, the chaplaincy team and wellbeing champions.
We understand that many UCL staff will be the first point of contact for conversations about wellbeing or for those facing difficulties, and we have a number of support systems in place to support staff in student-facing roles or as employee line managers.
More information on how staff can support students and staff with wellbeing conversations can be found here. This includes a newly expanded Student Triage and Referral Tool, guidance on handling disclosures to you, and mental health training for line managers.
Staff and students can also report sexual misconduct, bullying and harassment to the University via the Report + Support website which will link them to specialist support and guidance from the appropriate teams. These include HR, the Crime Prevention and Personal Safety team and UCL’s dignity advisers, depending on their situation and preference. UCL HR Business Partners and dignity advisers (who provide an informal, confidential information service to staff and students on issues including sexual misconduct) will provide support on how UCL can take the incident forward, in line with their preferences.
In an emergency, always call 999. For students in need of an urgent support but not an emergency response, you can submit a Student of Concern referral: Student of Concern form Students - UCL - University College London
You can read about our support services available for students here.
