Prevent Policy

i. Under Section 26 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, Christ Church has a duty ‘to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism.’

ii. The Terrorism Act 2000 uses the following two criteria to define terrorism.In order to qualify as an instance of terrorism, an action (or threat of action) must meet both of these criteria:

a. Terrorism involves the use of an action, or the threat of an action, that is designed to influence the government, an international governmental organisation, or to intimidate the public or a section of the public, and where the use or threat is made for the purpose of advancing a political, religious, racial, or ideological cause.

b. The means through which this is to be accomplished must either involve serious violence against a person, serious damage to property, endangerment of a person’s life, creation of a serious risk to the health and safety of the public or a section of the public, or be designed seriously to disrupt or interfere with an electronic system.

See below for Christ Church’s Freedom of Speech Policy.

i. Christ Church is committed to freedom of expression and seeks to restrict expression only when it violates the law.

ii.Internal and external speakers and audiences are reminded of their responsibilities to observe Christ Church’s policies on harassment and to conduct a civil academic discussion. If an event is likely to cause security concerns, the Dean reserves the right to relocate that event to premises where the safety of all participants can be properly protected.

i. If any member of the Christ Church community believes that another member is being drawn into terrorism, they should inform the appropriate Officer of the House: the Junior Censor in the case of Junior Members; the Senior Censor in the case of Senior Members; the Steward in the case of non-academic staff members outside Chapter; and the Sub-Dean in the case of Chapter members.

ii. If the Officer of the House believes that Christ Church’s legal duty under the 2015 Act is engaged, they should inform the Dean and Senior Censor, who will then determine the appropriate response to the incident, following consultation with that Officer.

Free speech allows Junior Members, teachers, and researchers to become better acquainted with the variety of beliefs, theories, and opinions in the world. Recognising the vital importance of free expression for the life of the mind, a university may make rules concerning the conduct of debate but should never prevent speech that is lawful.

Christ Church’s Freedom of Speech Policy can be found here.