We are providing support for students who may be affected or distressed by the case and subsequent police appeal.
Trigger warning: this article contains references to sexual assault.
Our community continues to come to terms with the shocking and deeply distressing crimes committed by former student, Zhenhao Zou, who was convicted in March at Inner London Crown Court of multiple counts of rape and other serious offences. The news of his sentencing today of life imprisonment with a minimum term of 24 years may bring renewed pain and distress for many, and our thoughts are with every person affected by this case. Taking into account the time he has already spent on remand, Zou will serve 22 years and 227 days before he can be considered for parole.
The nature of the crimes, the trial, and the surrounding media coverage have been profoundly upsetting. For some, this news may be triggering and a stark reminder of the trauma that sexual violence causes, both on an individual level, and collectively in our community.
We want to reaffirm that our focus as a Students’ Union remains our members’ welfare and safety. This is and always will be a supportive community.
Support is available for any student, alum, or staff member who has been affected by these events, and you are not alone. If you are struggling, support is available.
While the Term has ended, the end of the academic calendar does not mean the end of care. Students can still access all of our support services over the summer, including 24/7 confidential helplines and access to mental health professionals, including trained counsellors and psychologists. We can also provide support through our partnerships with specialist organisations including Rape Crisis.
In March, following the verdict, we acknowledged and honoured the extraordinary strength and bravery of the women who came forward to share their experiences and give evidence. We honour that bravery again today. Our thoughts remain with them and with all those impacted by sexual violence.
See our previous statement here.
Find more information on this page, including how you can access support available.
How can you access support?
If you have been affected by sexual violence or are impacted by hearing this news, it is important to know that you have a choice in how to proceed and that support is available to you. Please remember that this is not your fault. You are not alone and we are here to support anyone in our community affected by this.
More information including links to external organisations and resources that may be able to help can be found on our pages on supporting students affected by sexual harassment, misconduct and violence.
Reporting incidents and the Metropolitan Police appeal
We have supported the Metropolitan Police with their enquiries throughout this investigation and would like to thank to the Police and Crown Prosecution Service for ensuring the successful prosecution of these crimes.
We urge anyone with information related to these crimes to contact the Police through their public appeal on this webpage, by emailing [email protected] or calling 101, if they are comfortable doing so.
Anyone affected at UCL can also report any incidents to us through our online reporting tool and access Crime Prevention and Personal Safety support on and off campus. We will also support members of our community with reporting an incident to the Police, if they wish to do so.
Supporting students
Student Support and Wellbeing Services (SSWS) can help direct you to appropriate support both within and outside of UCL:
- If you would like to speak to someone about what support options are available to you, you can call the Student Support and Wellbeing Services Phone Line on +44 (0)20 3108 8836 during office hours.
- For 24/7 support, you can call the UCL 24/7 Support Line on +44 (0) 808 238 0077 and speak with an adviser. If you are calling from outside the UK, you should call 00 353 1 518 0277.
- If you would like to access some confidential support from the Mental Health and Wellbeing Team, you can book an initial same day appointment via askUCL. Appointments can be via phone or Teams or we have staff on site for in person meetings. Our advisers are trained in how to have conversations around sexual misconduct.
- You will be offered an appointment to discuss wellbeing support, options for reporting and academic support. This appointment is confidential and is available to all students. You can request that your adviser is male, female or non-binary, and to have support in your own language.
- Staff across Student Support and Wellbeing Services, Crime Prevention and Personal Safety Advice and Casework are trained to handle sensitive disclosures, including sexual violence.
- Our Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVAs) based in the Casework Team can provide emotional and practical support, information, and guidance to any UCL student reporting or considering reporting incidents of Sexual Misconduct to the University. ISVAs can be contacted at [email protected] to arrange a confidential appointment.
- Students can also report sexual misconduct, bullying, and harassment to the University via the Report + Support website, which will link them to specialist support and guidance from the appropriate teams, including support on how UCL Casework can take the incident forward, in line with their preferences.
- Welfare support is available in all of our student accommodation and our Wardens and Student Residence Advisers are trained to handle disclosures and can help ensure students receive specialist support quickly.
- If you are a parent or are concerned about a student, please contact Student Support and Wellbeing via the Student of Concern form.
- The NHS has useful advice and information for victims or survivors of sexual assault here, and our SSWS page also has links to various other external support options.
These services remain open throughout the Summer holidays.
Supporting alumni
All UCL alumni can contact the UCL Alumni Wellbeing Service who will provide 24/7 confidential, free mental health and wellbeing support at any time in multiple languages. We also offer access to a digital wellbeing platform and app, and drop-in sessions with a mental health specialist in person or online.
Supporting staff
Staff can find out about support available to them here.
Action against sexual violence
Awareness is key to preventing sexual violence in our community and our students and staff play a crucial role. This is why we continually invest in a range of preventative education and training:
- As part of our ongoing commitment to preventing and tackling sexual violence, we have implemented a range of programmes and initiatives, supported by specialist partners such as Rape Crisis, Survivors Network and Stamp Out Spiking, to protect, support and educate our community.
- Launched ten years ago, more than 50,000 students have been trained through our Active Bystanders programme to safely intervene to stop harassment, bullying, racism and sexual misconduct. It is the largest programme of its kind in higher education and will become mandatory for all students from September 2025.
- All staff in our bars and venues have undertaken the CPL Drink Spiking awareness course and are trained in how to implement the Ask for Angela scheme. We also have freely available drink lids, spiking testing kits and bottle stops in all our student union venues.
- Security is available across campus 24/7 and lead security staff receive specialised training around supporting student welfare and vulnerability. All students and staff have access to SafeZone, a free to download app that can be used to contact security in an emergency, if anyone needs any urgent help, first aid assistance or wellbeing support.
- We continue to deepen the training that our staff and SU staff receive with an additional 300 staff that were trained through Stamp Out Spiking during Spring Term 2025.
- Universities across the UK recognise the devastating impact of sexual violence on students and wider society and are taking action to raise awareness, prevent and address these issues. We are working actively with partners across higher education, government, charity and police to tackle these issues, as well as with our own students.
- We are working with partners including Camden Safety Partnerships to support community safety initiatives, such as Camden Safety Hub - a dedicated safe space for anyone who needs help on a night out.