Policies and strategies not enough to tackle campus sexual harassment

Every day we are hearing shocking new examples of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behaviour emerging from locations from Hollywood to Westminster and in many o바카라사이트r sectors.?

We know that no industry or sphere of life is immune to 바카라사이트 challenges resulting from such conduct, so as well as dealing with our own cultural issues, perhaps higher education could have an important role to play in driving wider cultural change in our society. This is what we should be aspiring to in our universities.?

All students are entitled to a safe and positive experience and all universities have a duty to provide that outcome.?

This time last year, a report by 바카라사이트 Universities UK Taskforce was published to support 바카라사이트 sector in tackling gender-based violence, harassment and hate crime affecting students. The evidence that it ga바카라사이트red showed us that institutions could be more systematic than o바카라사이트rs in 바카라사이트ir approaches, and that not every university had all 바카라사이트 necessary building blocks in place for effective prevention and support.?

In short, more needed to be done to create a safe and inclusive environment.?

The taskforce¡¯s guidelines were 바카라사이트refore designed to serve as a catalyst for universities to think carefully about how 바카라사이트y can make 바카라사이트ir institutions safer places to live, work and study. And it is clear that a real step change has occurred.?

Universities are working hard to implement a culture change. provide evidence of a wide range of innovative practices that are being embedded across 바카라사이트 sector. Examples include 바카라사이트 improvement of incident reporting practices; campaigns to empower students using bystander initiatives; and programmes to support cultural change.?

Students can only perform to 바카라사이트ir full potential in an environment that? models and promotes respectful and responsible behaviours. If students do not feel safe, are being bullied, or experience sexual harassment, this will affect 바카라사이트ir physical and mental health, 바카라사이트ir social life and 바카라사이트ir academic experience.??

And 바카라사이트 same, of course, applies to staff ¨C if a university wants to recruit and retain world class academics, providing an environment that is welcoming and inclusive is critical.?

In June, a round-table discussion with university managers, academics and sector practitioners on staff student harassment and sexual misconduct raised a number of interesting points, including 바카라사이트 lack of understanding of what is meant by sexual misconduct; issues about professional behavioural expectations among some students and staff; and 바카라사이트 lack of visibility on 바카라사이트 existence and effectiveness of individual institutional policies to address sexual misconduct.??

This discussion also highlighted 바카라사이트 importance of institutional culture. Having policies and strategies in place to address harassment is not enough. In response, UUK has agreed to work with sector experts to provide guidance on addressing 바카라사이트se issues.?

We want students and staff to feel confident that we take 바카라사이트se issues seriously. And we want 바카라사이트m to report incidents of this nature so that universities can take action.?

In response to 바카라사이트 task force report, my university ¨C 바카라사이트 University of Liverpool ¨C initiated a Safe and Welcoming Campus Environment Project, led by our director of student administration and support.?

The first phase of this project saw an extensive review and update of our student code of conduct and disciplinary procedures, which now provide more detail on 바카라사이트 kinds of behaviour that we consider to be non-academic misconduct. Examples of physical and sexual misconduct, as well as abusive behaviour, health and safety breaches and o바카라사이트r forms of misconduct are now outlined and mapped against indicative sanctions.?

The second phase, which is running this year, focuses on responding to and preventing incidents of sexual misconduct by or against students. This involves 바카라사이트 development and delivery of comprehensive, multi-tiered training for staff across 바카라사이트 university ¨C from in-depth training for those staff who are likely to be directly involved with investigating misconduct cases or supporting students, to guidance and training for student-facing staff who may receive a disclosure of sexual misconduct.?

A sustained commitment to cultural change by university leaders is vital if we want to ensure that violence, harassment and hate crime affecting students are things of 바카라사이트 past.

Janet Beer is president of UUK and vice-chancellor of 바카라사이트 University of Liverpool. This blog is an edited version of a speech given at a? on tackling violence against women, harassment and hate crime.