The director of UCL’s Eastern European studies department verbally sexually harassed a female pro-Palestine activist when she asked him not to touch her, a widely circulated video has revealed.
The video, posted by pro-Palestine activists at UCL Stands for Justice, shows Richard Mole, Director of the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES), telling a female Palestine activist “No man would want to touch you.”
The video, which has garnered over 300,000 views on Instagram and TikTok, was filmed in November when activists disrupted an event where Czech foreign minister Jan Lipavsky was speaking about the invasion of Ukraine.
The video shows Mole approaching and intimidating students, calling the student recording him a “coward”, adding: “You should be ashamed of yourself”.
After the student repeatedly tells Mole “Please don’t touch me”, he said: “I’m not touching you.
“I wouldn’t want to touch you. No man would want to touch you.”
After this, another student in the video said: “Why are you following us? Stay back please,” to which Mole said, “It’s because I’m the Director of the school” before pushing away a student in front of him.
The Cheese Grater understands Mole has remained in his post as Director of SSEES despite a formal investigation by the University.
In the post, UCL Stands for Justice said: “We are appalled with Richard Mole’s behaviour, not only as a UCL professor, but as a man in a position of power who is unashamed in his harassment of female students.
“Students should never feel unsafe on campus, especially not at the hands of a UCL professor and head of department.”
When approached for comment, Professor Richard Mole said: “I fully accept and understand that my remarks and actions were completely unacceptable and I whole-heartedly apologise to those affected.
“My words and actions on this occasion do not reflect my values and this is something I deeply regret and apologise for.”
A UCL spokesperson said: “Professor Mole’s actions were clearly unacceptable, something that he himself fully acknowledges. This video was taken during a protest at an event in SSEES in November 2024. The incident has been investigated through our established processes, which remain confidential.”
