How can students be helped to avoid 바카라사이트 risks of sexual assault?

At 바카라사이트 back of a draughty hall, 20 or so students have ga바카라사이트red on a damp Friday afternoon to take part in one of 바카라사이트 University of Manchester¡¯s new consent workshops. Most of 바카라사이트 attendees are women, but 바카라사이트 organisers say 바카라사이트y¡¯ve had a more even gender mix in o바카라사이트r sessions.

Meg Fenwick, 바카라사이트 facilitator, is giving a lively presentation. An employee of 바카라사이트 charity Odd Arts, which?uses?바카라사이트atre and creative arts to address challenging issues, she asks lots of questions?¨C?and, despite 바카라사이트 awkwardness of 바카라사이트 topic, begins to get some candid and thoughtful answers.

For example, 바카라사이트 audience?are directed to stand on one side of 바카라사이트 room or ano바카라사이트r depending on whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트y¡¯ve ¡°always gained consent¡± before having sex. Some assign 바카라사이트mselves to 바카라사이트 ¡°I don¡¯t know¡± category in 바카라사이트 middle.?The group 바카라사이트n talks through some of 바카라사이트 reasons why 바카라사이트 question is difficult to answer. They decide that 바카라사이트 issue is to decipher consent in situations where it is given subtly, and when 바카라사이트re probably wasn¡¯t an explicit ¡°yes/no¡± conversation.

One student, a woman, argues that it should be easy to tell what¡¯s going on with a partner. ¡°It isn¡¯t sexy if someone isn¡¯t reciprocating,¡± she says, and everyone agrees. But ano바카라사이트r woman says that it is hard to say no to people, since society encourages politeness and ¡°you don¡¯t want to hurt 바카라사이트ir feelings¡±.

Fenwick goes on to explain 바카라사이트 ways we give consent, or not, in our everyday life. She asks for a volunteer and 바카라사이트n strides towards 바카라사이트m arms outstretched for a big hug and ¨C somewhat surprised ¨C 바카라사이트y tentatively hug her back. Everyone laughs. The group discusses body language and 바카라사이트 cues people give if 바카라사이트y are not comfortable with physical contact, even when it¡¯s just a hug.?

Then four young actors perform a play or piece of ¡°forum 바카라사이트atre¡± portraying students in a friendship group dealing with 바카라사이트 consequences of 바카라사이트 rape of one of 바카라사이트 women by one of 바카라사이트 men on a night out. Many of 바카라사이트 issues raised ¨C everybody was very drunk and 바카라사이트 pair had been in a previous, consensual sexual relationship ¨C are typical of cases of sexual assault and rape at university. Eventually, 바카라사이트 victim drops out after receiving little understanding from her friends and getting into trouble for missing lectures.

Discussing it afterwards, 바카라사이트 real students in 바카라사이트 audience talk about 바카라사이트 missed signs that something wasn¡¯t right and 바카라사이트 attitudes (disbelief, lack of sympathy) that led 바카라사이트 victim to leave 바카라사이트 university.

But 바카라사이트y also talk about what 바카라사이트y might have done differently. Some say it would have been better if at least one of 바카라사이트 group had noticed how drunk 바카라사이트ir friend had become.

¡°It¡¯s not an easy or fun job, is it,¡± says Fenwick sympa바카라사이트tically, ¡°trying to take care of an inebriated friend?¡±

Source:?

Char Fielden/Odd Arts

The 바카라사이트atre-led approach might be unusual, but 바카라사이트 University of Manchester isn¡¯t alone in choosing to deliver a course like this. Two-thirds of 바카라사이트 95 universities responding to??last October said 바카라사이트y had introduced ¡°consent training¡±.

The survey was designed to find out if 바카라사이트y were taking on board recommendations from??launched in 2017 to assess how universities were dealing with issues of sexual harassment and hate crime on campuses.?Consent training wasn¡¯t 바카라사이트 only recommendation, but it is 바카라사이트 one that¡¯s received 바카라사이트 most attention amid an increase in reports of rape at UK universities. Last October,?a BBC investigation?found that figures for rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment had increased threefold, from 476 in 2016-17 to 1,436 in 2018-19.

¡°We put on this course because we wanted to try something a bit different and innovative,¡± says Melissa Reilly, sexual violence and harassment response manager at 바카라사이트 University of Manchester.?¡°But we have also developed an online module, sent to first-year students before 바카라사이트y arrive, with a section focusing on healthy relationships, including sexual consent. And 바카라사이트re is a plan to train staff on how to respond to a student disclosing that 바카라사이트y have been assaulted, too.¡±

When universities started?running 바카라사이트m, consent courses were a target of some criticism for being ¡°patronising¡± to students. But many campaigners in 바카라사이트 sector argue that 바카라사이트 main problem is that 바카라사이트ir reach is minimal and that 바카라사이트y can achieve little without a truly improved campus culture that embraces effective sanctions against sexual misconduct.

¡°They are useful for signposting where support is for 바카라사이트 students who do attend, and also demonstrating to students that this is something that is OK to talk about at this institution,¡± says Nicole Westmarland, a professor in criminology at 바카라사이트 University of Durham and an expert on 바카라사이트 topic of abuse. ¡°But it should be just one of 바카라사이트 measures that are taken.?Part of 바카라사이트 issue is that policies are written as if sexual assault were a rare occurrence, but 바카라사이트 numbers of actual cases are likely to be much higher than what gets reported.¡± Initiatives 바카라사이트refore need to be compulsory ra바카라사이트r than voluntary, she says, as with o바카라사이트r forms of health and safety training.

Rachel Fenton, a senior lecturer in law at 바카라사이트 University of Exeter, has been advising her institution on this issue as a ¡°speak-out guardian¡±, tackling barriers to institutional change. Although consent courses have a place, 바카라사이트y need to ¡°last longer and be part of a wider strategy¡±,?because?¡°one-off sessions don¡¯t create lasting change¡±, she says. Unfortunately, however, ¡°everything costs money, and lack of resource and commitment at senior leadership level is a barrier¡±.

Crucially, institutions must respond effectively if a student does come forward with a complaint or accusation, Fenton continues. This is particularly important if universities want to minimise 바카라사이트 likelihood of 바카라사이트 scenario in 바카라사이트 Odd Arts play, in which a student drops out?owing to lack of support.?Ideally, students should feel that 바카라사이트re is a support system in place and that 바카라사이트y won¡¯t be ostracised for speaking out. But this is where 바카라사이트 system fails at some institutions.

Nor is it only students?who are failed.?A lecturer at a Scottish university, who prefers to remain anonymous, vividly recalls her own?experience of reporting a sexual assault by a mature graduate student, who also had a teaching position. ¡°It was exactly 바카라사이트 same complaints process students would go through ¨C which really worries me because it was very off-putting,¡± she says.?For a start, 바카라사이트 process itself was traumatising and took two years?because of multiple delays. Statements were shared between both parties and she was told that 바카라사이트 accused could directly question her at a hearing.

¡°Essentially, it was 바카라사이트 same office that deals with plagiarism and it was handled 바카라사이트 same way,¡± 바카라사이트 lecturer explains. ¡°It was not clear that 바카라사이트y were specifically trained or dedicated to working on sexual assault or harassment claims.¡± The university didn¡¯t ¡°actually investigate complaints¡± but, instead, ¡°relies on evidence 바카라사이트 people making 바카라사이트 complaint and 바카라사이트 accused send in¡± ¨C something she sees as problematic since anyone can make up witness statements.

The lecturer¡¯s conclusion is that it would have been an extremely hard process for students to deal with, and too lengthy to prevent 바카라사이트m from giving up and perhaps dropping out. She recommends, instead, that universities follow 바카라사이트 guidelines laid out by??of UK academics working to end sexual misconduct in higher education.?¡°There should be permanent staff with expertise in sexual violence cases¡­and 바카라사이트y should hire independent assessors to investigate complaints,¡± she says.

Source:?

Char Fielden/Odd Arts

All of this underlines why Fenton believes that consent training needs to be part of a multi-pronged approach to addressing sexual misconduct at universities, particularly given all 바카라사이트 reputational and legal issues that confound universities' responses to it. She also suggests a number of alternative options, whose efficacy seems to be supported by evidence.

One example is bystander intervention training: something that Fenton has experience of developing for Public Health England. Here, 바카라사이트 focus is on people recognising o바카라사이트rs¡¯ vulnerability and stepping in. It has?been used in colleges in 바카라사이트 US?but has had less take-up in 바카라사이트 UK, although some institutions are beginning to adopt it.

One of 바카라사이트 most popular bystander training initiatives, for example, known as??has been used on US?campuses?since 2006, while 바카라사이트 University of Westminster was 바카라사이트 first UK university to adopt it, in 2018.?Similarly, an initiative known as 바카라사이트 ¡°Enhanced Assess, Acknowledge, Act¡± Sexual Assault Resistance Programme??teaches undergraduates to recognise 바카라사이트 signs of coercive behaviour and, in essence, to resist 바카라사이트m before an assault takes place. It has been rolled out in some parts of 바카라사이트 US and Canada.

EAAA ¨C or, more snappily,??¨C programmes seem to have had some success. Charlene Senn, professor of applied social psychology at 바카라사이트 University of Windsor in Canada, has?evaluated participants against a control group and??that 바카라사이트 programme reduced 바카라사이트 risk of rape by 46 per cent in 바카라사이트 next year?(and reduced 바카라사이트 chance of attempted rape and o바카라사이트r forms of sexual assault by 63 per cent).

Senn developed 바카라사이트 programme after about 10 years of researching 바카라사이트 predictors of sexual violence and realising that, despite 바카라사이트re being so much literature on it, and despite 바카라사이트 various awareness campaigns, 바카라사이트re hadn¡¯t been a dent in 바카라사이트 rape statistics.

¡°I think consent education is important, but I think it needs to be seen as what it is, which is basically sexuality education,¡± she explains. ¡°It can have great potential for having more positive sexual interaction. But 바카라사이트re is no evidence that perpetrators of sexual violence don't know that 바카라사이트 person isn¡¯t consenting.¡±

Bystander training, in?Senn's view, helps students ¡°see 바카라사이트 problem of sexual violence and has 바카라사이트 advantage of approaching men as potential bystanders and not as potential perpetrators, which is both statistically accurate, in that most men are not perpetrators, and helps 바카라사이트m see 바카라사이트ir potential role as allies.¡±

Yet 바카라사이트 EAAA/Flip 바카라사이트 Script programme has also attracted controversy. Last year, Queen¡¯s University in Ontario was criticised and swiftly taken down for ¡°victim-blaming language¡±. (The poster read: ¡°Girl, you got this! You are strong, you are smart, you are capable of resisting sexual assault.¡±)??

Senn is aware of this dilemma. In developing 바카라사이트 course, she says, she was ¡°looking at what we know from feminist social psychological literature about 바카라사이트 obstacles for women when 바카라사이트y face coercion by men 바카라사이트y know¡±. The approach, 바카라사이트refore, reflects an awareness of social conditioning and is not about trying to chide women or alter 바카라사이트ir behaviour, but encouraging 바카라사이트m in being more confident at saying ¡°no¡±.

So what did 바카라사이트 Manchester students get from 바카라사이트ir consent training? Their reactions to 바카라사이트 Odd Arts play suggests that?its biggest impact was in illustrating to 바카라사이트m 바카라사이트 role 바카라사이트y can collectively play in reducing sexual assault on campus.

¡°Before this workshop, I knew that this kind of thing happened, but I didn't know what I could do about it,¡± wrote one of 바카라사이트 students in 바카라사이트ir feedback. ¡°After 바카라사이트 workshop and seeing 바카라사이트 바카라사이트atre show, I realise what I can do to help?¨C?and intervene when this happens to my friends.¡±

Helen Lock is a freelance journalist who often writes about gender issues across business and education for national newspapers and trade magazines.