St Andrews University supporting student after 'concerning' Neil Gaiman assault allegations

St Andrews University is supporting a student who has made a number of allegations of sexual assault against the best-selling author Neil Gaiman.

On Monday, eight women accused the 64-year-old British writer of sexual misconduct. Gaiman has denied the allegations.

One of the women, who is said to have been babysitting Gaiman’s five-year-old child, alleged that an attack took place in the same room as the Sandman writer’s son in 2022.

In the New York Magazine report, she alleged that he offered her a bath in his garden before then joining her naked, asked her to sit on his lap, and sexually assaulted her.

The woman began studying an English literature degree at St Andrews University last year, where Gaiman was awarded an honorary degree in 2016.

The accuser claims to have asked the University to strip the writer of his award due to her experience, however, the honorary degree remains in place.

St Andrews University has confirmed it is providing counselling to the student following the allegations and is monitoring the case “with concern and close interest”.

However, the university did not confirm whether it was considering rescinding Gaiman’s honorary degree.

A spokesperson for the University said: “We applaud the courage of all survivors of sexual abuse, and especially those who have felt able to speak out about it.

“Our priority is the welfare of our student, to whom we are providing support and counselling. We will continue to monitor this case with concern and close interest.”

In a blog post on Gaiman’s website, the author claimed he is “far from a perfect person” but has never been involved in “non-consensual sexual activity”.

He goes on to admit that he may have been “careless with people’s hearts and feelings”, however at the time the Good Omens writer believed the relationships were “positive and happy”.

Gaiman wrote: “Some of the horrible stories now being told simply never happened, while others have been so distorted from what actually took place that they bear no relationship to reality.

“I am prepared to take responsibility for any missteps I made. I’m not willing to turn my back on the truth, and I can’t accept being described as someone I am not, and cannot and will not admit to doing things I didn’t do.”

The New York Magazine article claims all of the accusers had been willing to engage with Gaiman’s requests to some extent by calling him “master”, but the women allege that consent and specific BDSM activities, which they say took place, had not been discussed and agreed on before they happened.

Gaiman’s representatives previously said that “sexual degradation, bondage, domination, sadism and masochism may not be to everyone’s taste, but between consenting adults, BDSM is lawful”.

A police report accusing Gaiman of sexual assault was made in January 2023, but the investigation was eventually dropped.

Gaiman is known for books such as Coraline, American Gods and The Sandman, all of which have been adapted for the cinema or television.

Since the allegations first surfaced, several film and TV adaptations of Gaiman’s stories have reportedly been affected, including season three of Good Omens – which he jointly wrote with Terry Pratchett – and a film of The Graveyard Book.