Members of the society can come to the Welfare Officers for support. In the case that the member wants to raise a formal complaint within the society, these are the steps involved.
The member must let one or both Welfare Officers know specifically they want to raise a formal complaint in writing, either by emailing welfare.lgbt@soton.ac.uk or messaging a Welfare Officer.
The Welfare Officers will meet with the complainant to discuss the issue and possible solutions. The complainant will always be kept informed of the process at every stage and be able to decide what degree of anonymity they want. Unless there is a risk to the complainant or someone else, the complaint will remain confidential.
The Welfare Officers will do their best to resolve the complaint with the relevant people, while maintaining the confidentiality of the complainant.
If the matter cannot be resolved with just the Welfare Officers, or the people involved are uncooperative, the Welfare Officers will arrange for the complainant to meet with a Welfare Officer and the President or Vice President of the society to discuss it further and see if any disciplinary actions are required.
If the matter cannot be resolved within the society, or the complaint is of a serious nature that suggests individuals may be at risk, the Welfare Officers will support the complainant in escalating to the SUSU complaints process.
The Welfare Officers are only able to deal with complaints about the society or member’s behaviour within the society or at society events. They are not able to resolve complaints about University staff members or University students outside the society, but can offer support in raising those issues through the appropriate channels.