Study to measure level of sexual violence and harassment on college campuses
More 30,000 staff and 235,000 students will be asked to detail any of their experiences of sexual misconduct, sexual harassment and sexual violence,
More 30,000 staff and 235,000 students will be asked to detail any of their experiences of sexual misconduct, sexual harassment and sexual violence, as part of a ground-breaking survey.
The study, to be conducted by the Higher Education Authority (HEA), will measure the prevalence of sexual violence and harassment across college campuses.
Sexual misconduct includes crimes of sexual violence, stalking behaviours, online or offline, in a sexual context, and any verbal or physical harassment in a sexual context.
It also includes sexual cyberbullying of any kind, including the non-consensual taking or sharing of intimate images, and creating, accessing, viewing or distributing child abuse material online or offline.
The national survey will also ask staff their knowledge of policies, the availability of training and whether they feel safe in reporting allegations.
At the request of Simon Harris, the Minister for Further and Higher Education, the HEA was asked to conduct these surveys for future national equality, diversity and inclusion planning.
This will be the opening of a conversation with students and staff of our higher education institutions, according to Mr Harris.
“It is a conversation which may trigger difficulties for many people,” he said.
“Sexual misconduct can be committed by a person of any gender but we know the majority of victims are women. We know this can occur between people of the same or different genders. It is often targeted and perpetrated to demean, diminish, and intimidate.”
There is no longer a situation where reports of sexual violence and sexual harassment can be simply regarded as a bureaucratic issue or referred to external agencies.
That is according to Alan Wall, HEA chief executive. “A cognitive shift is needed: one student sexually assaulted on campus or one early career researcher sexually harassed, is one too many.
“Staff and students need to be supported and the HEA, through this and other work in the area, is committed to ensuring a national higher education culture which is safe, respectful and supportive.”
Dr Ross Woods, of the HEA Centre of Excellence for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion said these surveys are an important step in quantifying the prevalence of sexual violence and harassment across campuses.
The survey will be open for a number of weeks and its findings will be presented to the minister.
- Anyone impacted by these issues should contact their Higher Education Institution or text 50808 for help.
