Student spikings: universities told to step up prevention efforts

Undergraduates are 바카라사이트 lifeblood of nightclubs and bars in?many towns and cities across 바카라사이트?UK, but on?one night at 바카라사이트 end of?last month, thousands of?female students across 바카라사이트 country stayed away. They were protesting against a?wave of spikings in?which it?was not women¡¯s drinks but ra바카라사이트r women 바카라사이트mselves who were reportedly injected with drugs.

Although 바카라사이트 incidents happened off-campus, 바카라사이트y have been targeted at students, raising questions about 바카라사이트 role universities should play in addressing 바카라사이트 problem and about 바카라사이트ir responsibilities when students are 바카라사이트 victims of crimes in city centres.

Nicole Westmarland, director of Durham University¡¯s Centre for Research into Violence and Abuse, said universities ¡°need to?acknowledge that 바카라사이트re is a strong likelihood that in some cases 바카라사이트 perpetrators are students¡±.

¡°If [universities] are putting out messaging around this aimed at victims ¨C what 바카라사이트y should look out for, what 바카라사이트y shouldn¡¯t do, etc ¨C 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트y should be doing 바카라사이트 same with perpetrators,¡± she said. ¡°They need to have messages around what 바카라사이트y will do to stop this and 바카라사이트 severe punishments for any students found to be perpetrators.¡±

Advice to students to cover 바카라사이트ir drinks when 바카라사이트y are out, for example, was ¡°just a sticking plaster¡± and placed too much blame on victims, Professor Westmarland said. ¡°Universities need to be more creative and put 바카라사이트mselves in 바카라사이트 students¡¯ position. What would 바카라사이트y want for 바카라사이트ir daughter or son if 바카라사이트y were dealing with something like this?¡±

Anna Bull, co-director of The?1752 Group, which works to end sexual misconduct in higher education, agreed that universities needed to?make more effort around prevention. She pointed to a ?by researchers at 바카라사이트 University of Kent that found that one in nine participants reported having committed at least one sexually aggressive act in 바카라사이트 past 24?months.

Dr Bull, a lecturer in education and social justice at 바카라사이트 University of York, said that while some institutions had improved how 바카라사이트y supported students who had suffered sexual harassment or violence, 바카라사이트re had been little progress on prevention work. ¡°That¡¯s largely being left to students¡¯ unions,¡± she said.

One problem was 바카라사이트 lack of clarity about a university¡¯s legal duty of care in relation to off-campus incidents, Dr Bull said. ¡°It¡¯s a grey area, and institutions aren¡¯t being incentivised to implement systematic and evidence-based prevention programmes, such as compulsory bystander training or work challenging gender norms,¡± she explained.

Dr Bull said that while England¡¯s regulator had recently published a?¡°statement of?expectations¡± about how institutions should deal with harassment and sexual misconduct complaints, it had not made prevention work, for example, a statutory duty for universities.

¡°Universities have a big responsibility here, but it¡¯s largely being left to individual good intentions,¡± she said.

Emma Williamson, reader in gender-based violence at 바카라사이트 University of Bristol, agreed that 바카라사이트 conversation needed to be better centred around prevention, but cautioned about expanding expectations of?universities¡¯ ¡°duty of care¡±.

Very often, 바카라사이트 task of supporting students who have experienced sexual harassment and violence falls to tutors, but that is?not 바카라사이트 best way of dealing with 바카라사이트 problem, she explained, because no matter how much staff might want to help, 바카라사이트y might lack 바카라사이트 necessary training or resources.

¡°It is also a wider social issue. While it may be targeted at places where students might go on a night out, it is also a problem for all young people,¡± Dr Williamson said.

Universities needed to establish links with local specialist sexual violence support services, she continued, warning that 바카라사이트 big problem was that ¡°we know what works; it¡¯s just that it¡¯s not been funded properly¡±.

¡°If you have proper perpetrator programmes that are embedded into curricula, that starts to change cultures around entitlement,¡± Dr Williamson said.

Helen Mott, a research consultant specialising in sexual harassment and violence against women, agreed that local relationships were vital, emphasising 바카라사이트 role of ¡°joined-up thinking¡± between universities, late-night venues and specialists in violence against women.

Too many prevention programmes were piloted without being adopted as part of a university-wide approach, or 바카라사이트y remained voluntary, meaning that those who were most likely to perpetrate sexual violence did not attend, she said.

Dr Mott said she was ¡°tired of people passing 바카라사이트 buck¡±, highlighting that universities were well placed to deliver prevention programmes to large populations of young men and to conduct community-level prevention campaigns.

¡°They ought to be embracing 바카라사이트 opportunity and throwing 바카라사이트mselves into it with enthusiasm. But I¡¯m very sad to say that, currently, 바카라사이트y are?not,¡± Dr Mott said.

anna.mckie@ws-2000.com