Following recent media coverage concerning the Department of Gender Studies, I am aware that people have concerns and questions. LSE is in the process of conducting an investigation into media reports and accusations relating to an individual in the Department. Whilst that is ongoing, I am unable to make any comment about that case. However, I want to strenuously deny the allegations against the Department which question our practices, our ethics, and our integrity. As the Head of Department, I know these allegations to be entirely false.
I want to reaffirm that an ethical commitment to and solidarity with those made-marginalized by systems of power and oppression is central to our research and teaching at the Department. It directly follows that efforts to normalize the sexual abuse of children are entirely incompatible with and in contravention of our collective values.
Our broad portfolio of research and teaching is testament to our wide-ranging contributions to debates about the most pressing and important issues of our time, and we will continue to focus our attention on that work.
Professor Wendy Sigle
Head of Department of Gender Studies