What is Freedom of Expression?
Freedom of expression is a broad concept that King’s College London (King’s) regards as being inclusive of free speech, freedom of conscience and belief, the freedom to assemble and protest, and academic freedom.
Freedom of expression is the freedom to impart ideas, opinions or information through speech, writing, images and gestures.
These freedoms apply within the parameters of UK law and are also upheld by Article 10 of the Council of Europe’s European Convention on Human Rights, which the UK has signed.
Why Freedom of Expression is important
King’s seeks to provide an open, safe and intellectually vibrant environment to explore ideas, generate and critique evidence, express opinions and debate a wide variety of topics. King’s respects and affirms the right of our students and staff to express views and opinions and promote information in the course of their day to day lives both on and off campus as long as that expression is lawful.
We expect the students and staff of King’s to engage with civility, being mindful of our common humanity and the dignity and privacy of others, and tolerant of the right of others to exercise their freedom of expression.
Our Statement on Freedom of Expression published jointly with King’s College London Students’ Union and the King’s Community Charter sets out our shared values and principles.
Universities must protect and encourage the right to freedom of expression for all students, staff and visitors while ensuring the safety of all those who exercise this freedom.
How do I know if someone’s behaviour is protected by Freedom of Expression?
Under current legislation shocking, offensive or hurtful speech is permissible. It is not permitted for such speech to become bullying, harassment, discrimination or hate speech. Incitement to violence is also unlawful. You can read our definitions of these on our support pages.
Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) guidance states that the harassment provisions of the Equality Act 2010 cannot be used to undermine academic freedom. Learning experiences may include exposure to course material, discussions or speaker’s views that some find offensive or unacceptable. This is unlikely to be considered harassment under the Equality Act.
The university details behaviours that aren’t acceptable in our policies . These definitions are there to help you to understand if you may have experienced conduct that isn’t permissible.
What to do if there has been unlawful expression that may amount to harassment, discrimination, hate speech or incitement to violence.
If you or someone you know has witnessed speech or other forms of expression that you feel have reasonable grounds to believe may amount to harassment, discrimination, hate speech, or speech that is unlawful in the UK, please report this via Report and Support for consideration.
What to do if your Freedom of Expression has been limited, or you have witnessed expression which exceeds Freedom of Expression Principles.
You can report via Report and Support, under ‘I have witnessed expression which exceeds Freedom of Expression principles’ or ‘my Freedom of Expression has been limited’
Students can also use the complaints procedure: How can I make a complaint to the university? · Student Services Online
Staff can additionally report to their line manager or speak to their HR Business Partner
Support in relation to contentious experiences
Views expressed during debate and discussion may be considered by an individual to be shocking, offensive or hurtful, even if they are lawful and permissible within the University’s rules. We recognise that this can have an impact on people especially if related to a person's identity or beliefs. While this type of offensive or hurtful speech may not necessarily be investigated by the University, or the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) in the case of students, we still recognise the impact such conversations may have. We encourage those impacted by offensive or hurtful speech to seek support should you need to via our Report and Support platform