Report + Support Privacy Notice

This notice outlines how the University’s uses any personal data that is provided when submitting a report using the Report + Support tool. 

What data we collect and how we use it

When submitting a report, we ask you to provide information about the matter you are reporting to us such as the nature of the incident or behaviour, and where and when it happened. In some cases, that may include information about other people. 

We ask about your connection with the University and also the alleged perpetrator’s connection. We ask for information about the person who experienced the incident – which may be you or someone else – such as age, sexual identity, ethnicity etc. You can choose not to answer these questions.

For reports which are not made anonymously, we ask for contact details and the name of the person to be contacted, so that we can get in touch. 

The personal data that is provided is used to help us review your report, to provide support and to follow up with any actions agreed with you.  

The basis for processing personal data

We process your personal data, including any special categories of personal data, on the basis of your consent, which you give by submitting the report. You have the right to withdraw your consent if you wish to do so. 

In some limited circumstances, we may also process personal data where we have a legal obligation, where it is necessary for the legitimate interests of the University or someone else or where it is necessary to protect the vital interests of a person. 

Disclosure of personal data

The personal data in the report will only be shared with relevant and specifically trained staff members. We will usually only disclose the data to others with your consent, or where there are other legitimate reasons for disclosure, for example where it is necessary to protect the safety of a person. 

Data will also be shared with Culture Shift, a third party that provides the platform for the Report + Support tool. We have appropriate arrangements in place with Culture Shift to protect personal data and to keep it secure. You can find further information about Culture Shift here

Retention of personal data

Personal data will only be kept for as long as is necessary and we will usually only retain personal data for 2 years  for staff reports and up to 7 years for student reports. 

Data protection rights 

Individuals have a number of rights in relation to their personal data. That includes the right:

  • to rectify inaccuracies in personal data that we hold;
  • to receive a copy of personal data;
  • to have personal data erased;
  • to restrict the processing of personal data or to object to certain processing;
  • to withdraw consent where that is the basis of our processing.

Further information about your rights can be found on our Data Protection pages.

How to contact us

If you have any questions about this privacy notice or how we use personal data provided through the Report + Support tool, you can contact the University’s Data Protection Officer, Alexandra Elliott, by email at dpo@sussex.ac.uk



There are two ways you can tell us what happened