ZER TOLERANCE Stamping out sexual harrassment, stalking and violence on campus
A toolkit for universities, colleges and students’ unions
Introduction NUS Wales has published this toolkit with the aim of supporting and challenging more institutions and
Special thanks go to our pilot unions and institutions for leading the way in zero tolerance: Bangor University,
students’ unions to adopt a serious approach to ending sexual harassment, stalking and violence in
Swansea University, Cardiff and Vale College and Cardiff University. We also owe huge thanks to the
our universities and colleges.
Welsh Government who funded this work.
Quotes of endorsement: “The Zero Tolerance Project has given us a platform to work with the university on issues of safety and equality. We are encouraged by the progress we have made so far in partnership with both NUS and the university and are looking forward to realising the aims of the project – making our campus safer and more inclusive.” Shon Prebble, Vice-President Education and Welfare, Bangor Students’ Union
“Having such support from all the staff and officers in the students' union with the Zero Tolerance campaign has really helped the swift progression from last year raising awareness to now working with the university to expand this policy to a university wide approach to zero tolerance. It is very encouraging and I hope the momentum of this progression is maintained until the policy has been passed.”
“The Zero Tolerance Project was perfect timing to help us with some issues which had arisen through the Student Voice. It has also helped facilitate a great way for the college and the students to work together to tackle these serious issues. “Cardiff and vale college student union is glad to be involved in the zero tolerance campaign because it makes sure there is equality for everyone. It allows people to feel comfortable in non-stereotypical courses for their gender and everyone of different race and gender can feel safe and welcome whilst in college”. Heather Ferguson, Student Voice Co-ordinator at Cardiff and Vale College and Alexis Salter, Students’ Union President
Rebecca Warrillow, Swansea University Students’ Union Women’s Officer
NUS Wales, 2nd floor, Cambrian Buildings, Mount Stuart Square, Cardiff CF10 5FL t. 02920435390 @nuswales
e. office@nus-wales.org.uk www.facebook.com/nuscymru
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ZER TOLERANCE Stamping out sexual harrassment, stalking and violence on campus A toolkit for universities, colleges and students’ unions
Contents FOREWORD
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HIDDEN MARKS: THE BIG PICTURE
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Developing a zero tolerance policy in your institution • Exemplar policy: zero tolerance to sexual harassment, stalking and violence • Action plan: making a policy a reality
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ENCOURAGING REPORTING OF INCIDENTS
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Developing a zero tolerance policy in your institution • Exemplar pathway for reporting, recording and action after incidents
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VICTIM SUPPORT SERVICES
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Dear reader, The prevention of violence against women students has been a long standing priority for the NUS Wales’ Women’s Campaign. During 2009-2010, NUS published the outcomes of a research investigation titled ‘Hidden Marks’, which explored the experiences of sexual and physical harassment and violence of women students across the UK. This was the first investigation of its kind and its results were ground breaking. The Hidden Marks report showed that 68% of women students have experienced sexual harassment whilst at university or college. A further 1 in 7 have experienced serious physical or sexual assault. The report also demonstrated that a culture of acceptability has developed around sexual harassment. Indeed, it occurs daily, but institutions often play no role in challenging it. A key recommendation coming out of the report was the need for the development of a UK Zero Tolerance Accreditation scheme for students’ unions run by the NUS Women’s Campaign. The schemes would seek to raise the awareness of these issues and end the culture of acceptability that leaves such behaviour unchallenged. The scheme also would mean unions have effective policy in place within their own structures to deal with issues of sexual harassment. This work has been a success. Although there is, of course, much more work to be done. That’s why the NUS Wales’ Women’s Campaign has begun to take this important work one step further, and build on the report’s second key recommendation: the need to establish institution-wide policies that tackle violence against women students. Such an institution-wide policy can develop numerous ways in which institutions and students’ unions across Wales can work together to prevent further violence and harassment, to ensure that all students access the support services they need should they become victims, and to encourage reporting.
The approach: • Sets out how the institution and students’ union will develop and implement activities to change attitudes and raise awareness of the violence women face • Enables students and staff to recognise and effectively deal with harassment against students • Explores the use of peer support and help make sure campus security is suitable to help students feel safe • Shows how institutions would work with relevant agencies to ensure that students can access services, report harassment and assault and set out exactly how the institution would deal with violence committed by another student NUS Wales piloted this work with four pilot institutions: Bangor University, Swansea University, Cardiff and Vale College and Cardiff University. The results of this successful project are the basis for this toolkit.
What is an institution-wide policy? In this context, this means that the policy would be applicable to all students and staff across the entire institution, whether that be in the lecture hall, in the residential halls, or at a students’ union event. At the moment it is not uncommon for there to be different policies for different parts of the institution, meaning an assault could be treated very differently dependent on where it happened.
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Key Recommendations The following are NUS Wales’ key recommendations relating to issues on preventing violence against women in further and higher educational institutions. • All universities and colleges in Wales should have an institution-wide strategy for protecting their students and staff from sexual harassment, stalking and violence. This should cover all students, but have a central recognition that these are gendered problems. Appropriate steps need to be taken to address this element. • Characteristics of institution-wide strategies need to include:
o The application of policies should make the victims feel assured that they are being taken seriously. • Institutions should be expected to effectively communicate their policy and strategy on sexual harassment, stalking and violence in a way that is aimed at preventing perpetrators, not blaming victims. This information should be available in the Student Charter, student handbooks, on the website, and within induction processes. They should also produce information to clearly signpost students to external services such as SARC centres and the All Wales Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence helpline.
o One uniform approach across the entire institution, which is applied with parity across all sections and departments.
• Students and students’ unions are part of the solution to these issues, and should be partners in the development of such strategies.
o Part of all disciplinary processes.
Our vision for a nation of universities and colleges that hold a core principle of tackling sexual harassment, stalking and sexual violence is not an impossible one, and many institutions are already fully on board. It’s not just something I like to imagine; it’s the future I know we will secure. I hope you find this toolkit useful, and use it to make education better for everyone.
o Applied to any events or activities associate with the institution, on or off campus. o Includes all university run or associated accommodation – for instance all tenants should sign a code of conduct agreement that covers sexual harassment and stalking as well as violence. o Enables information sharing across departments – so that patterns of behaviour and repeat offenders can be identified in a timely manner.
Rhiannon Hedge, NUS Wales’ Women’s Officer
o All appropriate staff members receive information and training on the policies, including ways that equip them to identify and challenge unacceptable behaviour. • Institutions should conduct a review of the physical environment of their campus and how well it ensures the safety of their students, particularly around accommodation security. • All policies and processes should be victim centred, for instance: o Students should not find it unnecessarily difficult to move to a different accommodation if they have been a victim of intimidating or violent behaviour.
ZER TOLERANCE Stamping out sexual harrassment, stalking and violence on campus
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Hidden Marks: The big picture The following are some of the findings of the Hidden Marks report relating to the impact sexual harassment, stalking and violence had on students, including their mental health and their studies.
Perceptions of safety:
Reporting of incidents:
• More than one third of respondents reported that they sometimes felt unsafe when visiting their university or college buildings in the evening. This is in notable contrast to perceptions of safety during the day when 97% of students always or mostly felt safe.
• Reporting levels were low across all categories surveyed.
• Women were most likely to feel unsafe in the evening at their institution because of concerns that they were likely to be harassed or intimidated. • Students in halls of residence reported feeling unsafe because of concerns with security breaches.
Perpetrators: • The majority of perpetrators of stalking, sexual assault and physical violence were already known to the victim. • Men were the majority of perpetrators of stalking (89%) and physical violence (73%). • Students were the majority of perpetrators in most categories, the majority of whom were studying at the same institution as the respondent. The exception to this rule was in the category of physical violence where just under half of offenders were students (48%).
• Respondents were mostly likely to report stalking to somebody at the institution (21%), while victims of serious physical violence were most likely to report the incident to the police (17%). NB: the report was published before stalking became a specific offence in November 2012. • The most common reason for not reporting was that students did not feel what had happened was serious enough to report. • The most common reason for not reporting serious sexual assault was that the victim felt ashamed or embarrassed; 43% also thought they would be blamed for what happened and a third thought they wouldn’t be believed. • More than four in ten victims of serious sexual assault had told nobody about what had happened to them.
Impact on victims – health, confidence, relationships and studies: • The most common consequence of violence, stalking and sexual assault reported was deterioration of mental health.
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• One in four victims of serious sexual assault stated that their studies has been affected by the incident, and one in seven victims of serious physical assault reported that their attendance had suffered. • Approximately one quarter of stalking victims reported that the obsessive behaviour they had been subjected to had affected their mental health, studies and relationships. • 63% of victims of serious sexual assault said their relationships had been affected, 49% reported issues with their mental health and more than one in ten (12%) said there had been consequences to their physical health and 13% had considered leaving their course.
ZER TOLERANCE Stamping out sexual harrassment, stalking and violence on campus
Developing a zero tolerance policy in your institution Below is an exemplar policy for universities and colleges on zero tolerance to sexual harassment, stalking and violence.
Policy: Zero Tolerance to Sexual Harassment, Stalking and Violence. Table of Contents: Policy statement Policy 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Introduction Who is covered by the policy? Aims of the policy What do we mean by sexual harassment? Dealing with reported incidents Our commitment
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Policy statement (insert name of institution and Students Union) is committed to promoting a safe and supportive environment in which all students are free to learn and work without fear of sexual harassment, stalking and violence.
In order to do so, we will: • Encourage and support mutual respect within the whole of the university/college community. • Work with staff and students to create an understanding of acceptable and unacceptable behaviour and will sanction responsible use of disciplinary action where appropriate. • Promote a community which is supportive and which recognises the right of all students to be free of sexual harassment, stalking and violence. • Recognise the link between threatening behaviour and the loss of an enjoyable learning experience and seek to promote a social environment from which all may benefit.
• Take very seriously its legal responsibility for the health, safety and welfare of its students, staff and visitors and aim to provide a safe, healthy and high quality learning environment. • Recognise that staff with responsibilities for teaching and the support and welfare of students have a duty to highlight inappropriate and illegal standards of behaviour. • Provide guidance and information to staff and students to help them develop the confidence to know what action to take if they encounter incidents of sexual harassment, stalking or violence.
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1. Introduction The Hidden Marks report, published in March 2010 by the NUS Women’s Campaign, revealed that 68% of women students have experienced sexual harassment while studying at their current institution, and a further 1 in 7 have experienced serious physical or sexual assault. Many women reported experiencing persistent harassment in pubs and clubs, including those on campus and noted that this kind of behaviour was seen as normal within such an environment. (Insert institution) believes that no student should have to accept sexual harassment, stalking or sexual violence and that these behaviours are not a normal part of the student experience. The Hidden Marks report uncovered the prevalence of several forms of harassment and violence towards women, including stalking, sexual assault and physical violence. We believe that an environment in which sexual harassment is tolerated is one in which more serious forms of violence are less likely to be understood and dealt with effectively. This policy is being implemented in order to illustrate that such behaviour will not be tolerated at this institution.
This policy is part of a University/College wide approach that promotes a safe and supportive environment in which to learn and work. The overarching premise is one of support and education, focusing on boundaries of acceptable behaviour. The University/College has a legal responsibility for the health, safety and welfare of its students, staff and visitors and aims to provide a safe, healthy and high-quality learning environment. This includes addressing incidences of sexual harassment, informing students of their responsibilities and our codes of conduct and providing help and advice on request. All students have a legal responsibility to take reasonable care of their peers.
2. Aims of the policy The purpose of the policy is to: • Promote health, safety and wellbeing by providing information, advice and support • Inform students about the definition of sexual harassment • Provide advice on available support options where appropriate • Enable individuals who have experienced sexual harassment or violence to seek help
• Offer guidelines to all students and staff regarding their responsibilities and the required code of conduct • Explain how sexual harassment may lead to disciplinary and/or legal action • Explain how illegal acts of sexual violence, stalking and physical violence will be dealt with • Reassure victims of these behaviours that their experiences will be taken seriously and they will be supported by the institution
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3. Who is covered by the policy? The policy applies to students and staff currently registered at the university/college. It applies whether students are on university/college premises or elsewhere on university/college business or study activities, including premises managed on behalf of the institution by a third party (such as halls of residence). The policy also applies to Students Unions, who are independent bodies who conduct and manage their own affairs in accordance with their constitution. In certain situations individuals may be subject to disciplinary action, be asked to leave and/or be
reported to the police. The university/college does not wish to criminalise its students or visitors, but it has a legitimate interest in protecting those at the university/college from the impact of harassment and violence.
4. What is meant by sexual harassment? There is no legal definition of sexual harassment. The defining characteristics are that it is unwanted, persistent and of a sexual nature. Examples of unacceptable behaviour include: • Unwanted sexual comments, including comments about a person’s body or private life
• Groping, pinching or smacking of the body, such as bottom or breasts
• Unwelcome sexual invitations, innuendos and offensive gestures
• Having clothing such as skirt or top lifted without consent
• Wolf whistling, catcalling or offensive sexual noises
• Someone exposing their sexual organs without consent
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5. Dealing with reported incidents When a student makes a disclosure of sexual harassment, stalking or violence the responder should: • Ensure privacy before continuing the conversation • Listen to and acknowledge what the student is saying
• Be culturally sensitive • Reassure them that they have the right to feel safe and that the university will be supportive of their situation
It is essential to first discuss the student’s immediate safety and, where relevant, the safety of anyone else affected. Where there are threats to safety, for example, continuing harassment or threats of violence from a housemate, the responder may need to consider: • Contacting the police • Arranging emergency housing
• Referral to Sexual Assault Referral Centre if there has been sexual violence
Consideration should then be given to: • Recording the incident in writing and storing in accordance with the Data Protection Act.
• Dealing with the incident in accordance with your disciplinary framework.
• Asking the student if they wish to be contacted with follow up information at a later date, including details of how the incident was dealt with.
• Checking if the student needs a referral to any other department within the university/college, for example, academic support, counselling etc.
• Taking the incident report to your line manager (where relevant).
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6. Our commitment The welfare of the student body is the driver for this policy and, as such, we make the following commitments: • We will strive to create an environment where no student feels that they have to ‘put up’ with unacceptable behaviours. • Sexual harassment, stalking and violence will not be tolerated by this institution and those who commit such acts will be stopped and disciplined for their actions in accordance with the institutions disciplinary framework. • We will ensure that this policy is made available to all staff and students and that staff are aware of the expectation that they will actively enforce the policy. • The policy will be made available on publicly accessible forums, such as the institution website, and will be accessible to prospective students. • That students who experience sexual harassment, stalking or violence will be able to access support if they wish to do so. • That a relevant committee will be identified and given responsibility for reviewing the implementation and effectiveness of this policy. If no such committee exists already, a working group will be formed for the purpose of review.
ZER TOLERANCE Stamping out sexual harrassment, stalking and violence on campus
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Action plan: steps to a safer campus Now that you have your exemplar policy (see previous chapter), here are some practical steps to making it a reality.
Practical steps for students’ unions • Ensure the policy has passed through the relevant committee at the earliest opportunity • Decide which officer is primarily responsible for the policy implementation • Organise sessions to brief relevant people on the policy and new processes. (e.g. senior management team, bar managers, door staff in venues, bar staff in venues) • Develop summary briefing documents for these sessions. • Devise a disciplinary framework for any reported incidents. This is likely to involve bans from students’ union premises for a fixed length of time. You will need to decide which role is best placed to lead on this, perhaps your General Manager/Chief Executive. • It may be advisable for student bar staff to not be involved in current disciplinary processes against any of their peers as this could put them in a difficult situation. Decide what pathways will be in place for them if an incident is reported to them or they witness an incident.
Practical steps for universities and colleges • Ensure the policy has passed through the relevant committee at the earliest opportunity. If some aspects are already adequately covered by an existing policy, such as Equal Opportunities, you will need to decide how this will be enforced and promoted.
• Identify a lead contact person within the university who will oversee the application of the Zero Tolerance policy and work with the union. • Identify any specific areas of the university where a policy launch would be most effective. Residential services is a recommended area. Residential services managers and staff would need to be engaged in this. If they agree to adoption of the policy in university managed accommodation, then a roll-out plan will be needed. This may involve: o Inclusion of a flyer or policy summary in welcome packs. o Discussion of the policy at halls induction events. o Briefings for any identified staff or student wardens who may receive disclosures, including any night porters. These staff should be clear on what they are expected to do when a disclosure is made. o Deciding if this will be folded into the existing residential services disciplinary processes or whether it will be separate and dealt with within the students’ union. If it is going to be separate, you will need to ensure it is consistent. o Record keeping. Will this become part of daily incident logs completed by porters and wardens? What will then happen to the reports? It is advisable for the union and university to develop a system to compile an overall record to show the extent of the issues on campus and to be able to demonstrate that responses have been timely and effective. An information sharing protocol may be necessary.
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Encouraging reporting of incidents It is important that clear guidance on how to deal with disclosures of serious offences is given to union and institutional staff. Dealing with such incidents badly can have highly negative consequences for victims. The following are a set of guidelines to follow in such cases. Some victims may not want anyone to know about it or may hesitate to file an official complaint. Essentially victims do not complain because they:
In order to encourage students to report cases of sexual harassment, stalking or violence, you may want to advise staff:
• Blame themselves for the situation
• To not deny or minimise the incident, but to trust their reaction. If it feels like something about it was wrong, then tell someone.
• Ashamed that the incident/s occurred • Unaware that they have the “right” to be treated with respect on campus • Fear that the risks of retribution may outweigh the benefits of filing an official complaint
• Do not be afraid to speak up, and make clear to victims that they will be treated with respect and their complaint will only go down avenues they are happy with. • Do not to try to deal with severe forms of violent, offensive or intimidating behaviour alone. Even at the first occurrence, you should ask for help and support • Document every incident in detail if the behaviour recurs. • Find witnesses and gather other evidence if the accused denies the incident.
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Support services for victims of sexual violence and stalking All Wales Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Helpline t. 0808 80 10 800 w. http://www.allwaleshelpline.org.uk/ The All Wales Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Helpline is a bilingual information signposting service run by Welsh Women’s Aid to help and guide people with experience of domestic abuse or sexual violence who are in need of information or access to support services. Calls to this number will not show up on landline bills.
The Freedom Programme w. http://www.freedomprogramme.co.uk/ The Freedom Programme is a 12-week programme for women experiencing domestic abuse by a male partner. It can be accessed online by anyone in Wales or as a face to face programme through Cardiff Women’s Aid (call 02920 460566 for details). The website also contains information for male perpetrators of domestic abuse who wish to change their behaviour.
Respect UK Domestic Violence Helpline t. 0808 2000 247 This is a 24 advice and information service to available to anyone in the UK.
Victim Support t. 0845 30 30 900 Victim Support provides advice to anyone who has been a victim of a crime, regardless of whether that crime has been reported. Their trained volunteers offer: • Someone to talk to in confidence • Information on police and court procedures • Help in dealing with other organisations • Information about compensation and insurance • Information on other sources of help
The Dyn Project t. 0808 801 0321 The Dyn Project provides confidential support and advice to men experiencing domestic abuse from a partner.
t. 0808 802 4040 w. http://www.respect.uk.net/ Respect is a confidential phone line for domestic abuse perpetrators. They offer information and advice to support perpetrators to stop their violence and change their abusive behaviors. The main focus of the Respect phone line is to increase the safety of those experiencing domestic violence by engaging with the abusers and to reduce the risk.
National Stalking Helpline t. 0808 802 0300 The National Stalking Helpline provides guidance and information to anybody who is currently or has previously been affected by harassment or stalking. The Helpline can provide guidance on: • The law in relation to stalking and harassment • Reporting stalking or harassment • Effective gathering of evidence • Ensuring your personal safety and that of your friends and family • Practical steps to reduce the risk
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BAWSO w. http://www.bawso.org.uk/ BAWSO delivers specialist services to people from Black and ethnic minority backgrounds who are affected by domestic abuse and other forms of abuse, including female genital mutilation, forced marriage, human trafficking and prostitution. They provide support, advice and information from offices in Cardiff, Merthyr Tydfil, Newport, Swansea and Wrexham.
Welsh Women’s Aid w. http://www.welshwomensaid.org.uk The website contains details of all local Women’s Aid groups in Wales. Some local numbers are listed below: Aberystwyth t. 01970 625585 Aberystwyth Women’s Aid 4 Pound Place Aberystwyth Ceredigion SY23 1LX Bangor (and District) t. 01248 690077 Bangor and District Women’s Aid 7 Llys Y Fedwen Parc Menai Bangor Cardiff t. 02920 460566 Cardiff Women's Aid 16 Moira Terrace Adamsdown Cardiff CF24 0EJ Carmarthen t. 01267 234725 Carmarthen Women's Aid 17 Barn Road Carmarthen Carmarthenshire SA31 1DD Cardigan t. 01239 615700 Cardigan Women’s Aid 46a St Marys Street Cardigan SA43 1HA
Newport t. 01633 840258 Newport Women's Aid 56 Stow Hill Newport NP20 1JG Swansea t. 01793 644683 Swansea Women's Aid PO Box 363 Swansea SA1 2YG Wrexham t. 01978 310203 Wrexham Women’s Aid 6-8 Temple Row Wrexham LL13 8LY
Sexual Assault Referral Centres A Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) is a safehaven for victims of sexual violence. They aim to be one-stop service centres, providing the following under one roof: medical care and forensic examination following assault/rape; counselling and emotional support; legal advice; and, in some locations, sexual health services. Medical services are free of charge and provided to women, men, young people and children. SARCs are mostly able to assist in the immediate aftermath of an assault. SARCs are funded and run in partnership, usually between the NHS, police and the voluntary sector. There are several SARCs across Wales, search online for your nearest one.
Safer Wales t. 02920 222022 Safer Wales is an independent charity based in Cardiff. It provides links to the Cardiff Women’s Safety Unit and also general advice for anyone experiencing domestic abuse. This advice covers personal safety, finance, criminal proceedings and housing.
ZER TOLERANCE Stamping out sexual harrassment, stalking and violence on campus
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