Changing the Culture: Report of the Universities UK Taskforce
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CHANGING THE CULTURE Report of the Universities UK Taskforce examining violence against women, harassment and hate crime affecting university students FOREWORD All university students, whether undergraduate or postgraduate, full-time or part- time, are entitled to enjoy a safe and positive experience at university. UK universities have a duty to ensure that outcome. However, in recent years there has been evidence, much of it generated by the notable efforts of the National Union of Students (NUS), which shows that some students have experienced episodes of harassment, hate crime, or sexual violence, and that their university may not always have responded effectively. In recognition of this, and in response to a letter from the universities minister which asked Universities UK (UUK) to take action to address the issues raised, UUK established a Taskforce to examine violence against women, harassment and hate crime. It consisted of university leaders, student representatives and academic experts. The Taskforce considered harassment in all its forms, but prioritised issues of sexual violence and harassment. On sexual violence explicitly, there is no comprehensive data available to indicate how many UK university students are affected by such incidents. The evidence is limited to NUS survey findings. Nonetheless, the potential impact of any such incident on a student may be so serious in nature that universities must be equipped to respond effectively and engage in prevention initiatives. The Taskforce consulted widely and considered extensive evidence on harassment, hate crime and violence against women. Many universities submitted evidence to highlight the steps they and their students’ unions are already taking to address these issues. These activities cover effective responses to reported incidents, and mechanisms to prevent them from arising in the first place. It is clear that within the sector there is a visible commitment to protecting students and providing appropriate and effective support to them when needed. Nonetheless, the evidence also showed that institutions could be more systematic in their approaches, and that not every university had all of the necessary building blocks in place for effective prevention and response. The report makes a number of recommendations, which I believe will drive meaningful change across the higher education sector, and taken together should result in a more consistent and effective approach to addressing harassment, hate crime and violence against women at and beyond university campuses. This report represents a starting point. More work is to come. As UUK Chief Executive and Chair of the Taskforce I remain committed to progressing its excellent work. This will include building upon the case studies and the sharing of good practice identified in this report, so that across the sector and to the extent that it is possible, we can ensure that violence, harassment and hate crime affecting university students is a thing of the past. 1 I am most grateful to all the institutions and students’ unions that shared their experiences, their views and their case-studies with us, and also to the many organisations that provided their time and expertise. Finally, I would particularly like to thank the members of the Taskforce for their invaluable contributions. Nicola Dandridge Chief Executive, Universities UK 2 CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................. 4 GLOSSARY OF TERMS .............................................................................................................. 7 CHAPTER 1: SETTING THE SCENE AND THE NATURE AND SCALE OF THE PROBLEM ....................... 14 CHAPTER 2: EVIDENCE FROM UNIVERSITIES ............................................................................ 27 CHAPTER 3: THEMES FROM THE EVIDENCE .............................................................................. 31 CHAPTER 4: RESPONDING TO HARASSMENT AND HATE CRIME .................................................. 45 CHAPTER 5: ACHIEVING A UNIVERSITY-WIDE RESPONSE TO INCIDENTS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE ...... 49 CHAPTER 6: REVIEW OF THE ZELLICK GUIDELINES .................................................................... 56 CHAPTER 7: TASKFORCE RECOMMENDATIONS AND NEXT STEPS ................................................ 58 ANNEXES ANNEXE A: TASKFORCE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................ 61 ANNEXE B: METHODOLOGY AND LIST OF CONTRIBUTING ORGANISATIONS .................................. 63 ANNEXE C: EVIDENCE ............................................................................................................ 68 ANNEXE D: LIST OF SUPPORT AGENCIES .................................................................................. 92 ANNEXE E: UNIVERSITY CASE STUDIES .................................................................................... 94 ANNEXE F: RAPE CRISIS REFERRAL PATHWAY TEMPLATE ........................................................ 109 ANNEXE G: THE INTERVENTION INITIATIVE .............................................................................. 111 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report summarises the evidence considered by the Universities UK Taskforce to examine violence against women, harassment and hate crime and makes recommendations in response to that evidence. The Taskforce was established in September 2015. Its terms of reference (Annexe A) focused principally on violence against women, harassment and hate crime. This report therefore pays particular attention to these issues but acknowledges that further work is required in other areas. The Taskforce assessed a range of evidence documenting the nature and scale of the problem in higher education institutions. This revealed that incidents of harassment, hate crime and violence do happen at UK universities. This is unacceptable. These experiences can have a considerable impact on student wellbeing, academic attainment, student retention, institutional reputation and future student recruitment. The evidence also suggested that despite some positive activity, university responses are not as comprehensive, systematic and joined-up as they could be. A commitment to addressing these issues is required within every university, from senior leadership down. The evidence revealed that these issues are not just isolated to universities but are relevant to wider society including schools, work places, sports organisations and entertainment venues. Universities in other countries, including the United States of America and Australia, are also seeking to address the same problems – there is scope for the UK to learn from their experiences. UK universities have a significant opportunity to lead the way in preventing and responding to violence against women, harassment and hate crime. In doing so, this will have an impact that extends well beyond university campuses. There is already an extensive range of activity taking place in the sector in relation to preventing incidents of violence against women, harassment and hate crime, and responding effectively should they occur. A number of case studies feature in this report. This positive activity is often driven by a particular university function or the students' union, and does not always take a coherent, systematic approach across the whole institution. This can impact upon the effectiveness of prevention activities and the quality of university responses. Universities need to be encouraged and supported to take an institution-wide approach which draws together activities across the university from promoting positive behaviours through to ensuring that appropriate support is in place for students. In adopting such an approach, it is vital to ensure that there is effective data collection, appropriate governance, robust risk management and regular impact assessments. This will enable institutions to assess the effectiveness of procedures and improve them where necessary. Regular and ongoing engagement with students was identified as being of critical importance. It is essential not only in relation to prevention activities, but also in 4 ensuring the university is best-equipped to deal with violence against women, harassment and hate crime. Based on the evidence, the Taskforce agreed that there are several steps that universities can take to promote and reinforce positive behaviour within the student population. These include making use of evidence-based bystander initiative programmes and facilitating a culture of zero tolerance. This activity will have knock- on benefits for wider society given the large numbers of students who progress through the UK’s higher education system. The Taskforce concluded that partnership working is a fundamental component of preventing and responding to violence against women, harassment and hate crime. Partners, including the police, community leaders and specialist services can be vital in supporting students, ensuring staff are well trained and assessing the nature and scale of the issues affecting students at a given time. In addition, they can play a crucial role in the development of effective institutional policies and procedures such as the handling of disclosures of sexual violence. By working with local partners, universities can also spread the benefits of their own activities by embedding positive behaviours in social and sporting activities taking place away from university campuses. The