Ending Sexual Harassment and Violence in Third Level Education (ESHTE)

1. Ending Sexual Harassment and Violence in Third Level Education (ESHTE)

2. Funded by the European Union

3. Day 1

4. Introductions and overview

5. Training content • The context: universities taking action to tackle gender-based violence (GBV) • The First responder role – what will it entail? • Understanding sexual violence and harassment (SVH) (definitions, the law, gender inequality and the continuum, social attitudes, impacts including trauma • Reporting to the police, forensic examinations and the criminal justice process • Bringing it all together : the First Response - listening, university procedures, services available, responding.

6. Training objectives • Trainees understand forms, nature and impacts of SVH and wider contextual issues including specific issues for students and universities. • Trainees are equipped to support students to disclose SVH, addressing any emergency needs and facilitating access to any further internal and external support, with a non-directive and non-judgmental approach. • They can offer basic information to support students’ decisions in relation to reporting to the police, and can signpost to sources of further help and information. • Trainees understand the universities’ policy and procedural framework as relates to the First Responder role, including confidentiality, information-sharing and record-keeping.

7. Support and advice available Insert Sample Services here

8. Universities and action to tackle SVH and GBV

9. What do we know about sexual violence and harassment facing students? UK Example An NUS survey of women students found: 68 % verbal or non-verbal harassment in and around their institution, including groping, flashing and unwanted sexual comments. •16 % experienced unwanted kissing, touching or molesting, mostly in public. •12 % experienced stalking. •7 % had been subject to a serious sexual assault, the majority of which occurred in somebody’s home. 81% of those subjected to serious sexual assault, and 53% of those subjected to less serious sexual assault, knew their attacker. The majority of perpetrators were students, and of these the majority were studying at the same institution. Source: NUS (2010) Hidden Marks: A study of women students’ experiences of harassment, stalking, violence and sexual assault.

11. How do students feel about reporting to universities? The Hidden Marks survey found that: more than four in ten victims of serious sexual assault had told nobody students who had been subjected to a ‘less serious’ sexual assault were least likely to report either to the police or to the institution Key reasons: felt it was not was serious enough ashamed or embarrassed thought they would be blamed thought they would not be believed.

12. Inappropriate conduct and abuse by staff towards students 38% current student respondents had experienced at least one experience of sexualised behaviour from staff. 2.3% had experienced non-consensual sexual contact by a staff member, while 9 had experienced sexual assault or rape. Women respondents were more likely than men respondents to have experienced sexual misconduct from university staff, sometimes more than twice as likely. For example, 15.6% of women reported being touched by a staff member in a way that made them uncomfortable, compared to 7% of men. The figure rises to 22.9% for gay, queer and bisexual women. Source: NUS (2017) Power in the academy: staff sexual misconduct in UK higher education

13. Your perspective Why is it important from your point of view that the university takes action to tackle GBV? What do you think this work should aim to achieve?

14. Key aims of a holistic programme of work • The university staff and student community rejects violence • Violence is understood as preventable, and is tackled through a range of coordinated measures underpinned by a gendered analysis. • Students and staff who are affected by GBV receive a consistent response which: • is sensitive and equipped to help • prioritises their safety • is non-directive and supports them to make informed choices • enables them continue their study/work if they wish to and are able to • supports recovery

15. The First Responder Role

16. 3 tier training model • Tier 1 - all staff: GBV awareness, University’s zero tolerance approach basic skills to receive disclosures, processes and signposting • Tier 2 -staff with a support role for students e.g. Advisers of Study, Graduate School teams; Living Support teams and wardens in halls, Student Services; Disability Services and SRC Advice team: more detailed guidance on internal processes and external support services. • Tier 3 - staff designated as First Responders to include members of Crisis Team etc. and others (staff and student) to be appointed: to receive in-depth training in how to support and advise those disclosing.

17. The First Responder Role • Advertised on website as go-to people • Be person to support survivor through their choices • Line managers will be advised of importance of role and ask that it is acknowledged as additional duties on job description or specialised role • Can be for both staff and students • Opportunity to be involved in training of other tiers

18. Sexual violence and harassment

19. How do we define ‘sexual violence’? When someone does not consent to a sexual act

20. Making the links Downloaded from Pinterest.com 31st August 2018

21. Allport’s scale of prejudice and discrimination Downloaded from https://notallwomenarethesame.wordpress.com/ 31st August 2018

22. Key points about the pyramid • Attitudes, comments, jokes supportive which condone objectification, harassment, misogyny and violence may be understood as approval. Role of some male peer groups in exacerbating this. • Doesn’t necessarily suggest a progression at the individual level – though this may be a feature in development of sexually violent behaviour • Link between objectification, dehumanisation and violence • Violence to assert and maintain social status

23. A continuum of violence against women • We need to change the framework for observing and analysing violence - it is not necessarily deviant and episodic, but rather it is normative and functional: an everyday context for the lives and experiences of women and girls all over the world • Investigations and public concern, if concentrating on the extremes of horrific cruelty and violence, may focus on these manifestations in isolation, but this is unhelpful if explanations and responses are sought • In fact, they are extremes at one end of a spectrum of socially sanctioned male aggression, coercive behaviour and patriarchal norms • For example, child sexual abuse/incest can be mapped on the continuum of ‘normal’ patriarchal family structures and relationships; rape is at the extreme end of a spectrum of sexual harassment and intimate intrusions which women and girls experience all the time • ‘typical’ and ‘aberrant’ violences shade into one another without clear demarcation • All the different and varied manifestations of events, acts and behaviours must be located within the overarching gender order of inequality and domination, and understood as functioning to maintain that order (whether overt and personal, or hidden and structural) • Without knowledge and critique of the context we cannot fully understand the meaning and consequences of such violence. Continuum of Violence against Women, theorised by Liz Kelly in Surviving Sexual Violence (1988) Summarised by Women’s Support Project, downloaded from http://www.womenssupportproject.co.uk/userfiles/file/resources/nationalresources/Continuum%20of%20VAW.pdf 31st August 2018

24. An ‘intersectional’ perspective • Complexity of experience and meaning of violence • Resources available for safety and recovery • Recourse to services • Experience of justice Downloaded from http://haenfler.sites.grinnell.edu/subcultural-theory-and-theorists/intersectionality/ 31st August 2018

25. Some statistics (UK Example) Women: 4.6% Men: 0.6% Girls: 11% Boys: 3% 38.03% 25.30% 10.09% 81% 35.6% Twice • From the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey 2014-5 what percentage of women and men surveyed had experienced at least one form of serious sexual assault since the age of 16? • From the Crime Survey for England and Wales 2015-6, what percentage of women and of men surveyed had experienced sexual assault before the age of 16? • Based on data from Rape Crisis Centres in relation to 4108 survivors from 2016-7, what proportion of abuse happened: • in the survivor’s own home? • In the perpetrator’s home? • outside? • From NUS Hidden Marks (2010) survey, what percentage of women students subjected to serious sexual assault knew the perpetrator? • From NUS Hidden Marks LBT (2011), what percentage of lesbian, bisexual and trans women had experienced sexual assault? • From research commissioned by Women’s Aid in 2007, how much more likely are disabled women to be assaulted or raped as non-disabled women?

26. Societal attitudes and impacts

27. Social attitudes discussion statements Students should take care not to put themselves at risk of sexual assault Alcohol blurs the lines around consent Wolf-whistling isn’t necessarily harassment – some women appreciate it

28. Social attitudes discussion statements If a student is sexually assaulted they should report it to the university as soon as possible University staff should not make comments of a sexual nature towards each other

29. Social attitudes discussion statements If someone didn’t physically resist an assault it’s less clear-cut https://www.rapecrisisscotland.org.uk/i-just-froze/ If you delay reporting a sexual crime to the police you’re less likely to be believed. The #MeToo movement is unhelpful as it conflates serious sexual assault with minor things like inappropriate comments

30. Social attitudes discussion statements There have been a number of instances of false allegations of rape in the media so they must be reasonably common. “From a police perspective there is nothing to suggest either anecdotally or evidentially, that false reporting of rape is prevalent, in fact such cases are very rare. We recognise that there are many reasons why a victim would subsequently withdraw from the criminal justice process and we are trying to get a better understanding of why that is and what we can do to improve confidence in the system. What we do know however is that of those rape cases that we later reclassify as no crime, only a very small proportion of those are as a result of a false report, so few in fact that ordinarily the statistics would merit no further debate”. Stephen House, former Chief Constable of Police Scotland More discussion on this issue at: https://www.rapecrisisscotland.org.uk/false-allegations/

31. Interview with a woman who was raped while studying at university How her friendships and studies were affected How it’s affected her emotionally and psychologically How other people responded – what helped and what didn’t Using the word ‘rape’ as a joke How she has worked to recover from the assault

32. Day 2

33. Trauma

34. Trauma and the BrainNHS Lanarkshire https://vimeo.com/118541908

35. What’s trauma got to do with it? • In what ways does trauma seems to be affecting the students in the scenarios? • how might you engage with them in light of their traumatic responses? There are a range of actions you might take in these scenarios, but please focus here on how your understanding of trauma might shape your response You might want to refer to the Information for survivors: trauma leaflet for suggestions of how to support the students/characters with self-care.

36. Supporting students affected by trauma Grounding and breathing - for yourself and for them Help them understand that traumatic responses are a natural response to threat – and can affect things like memory and concentration. Give information about support services. They may not be able to engage or take it in now, but might be able to later. Consider how supportive friends might be able to help – with consent of the survivor, and support for the supporter. ninaburrowes.com/books/the-courage-to-be-me/

37. The Criminal Justice Process

38. Information about National Justice System

39. The Criminal Justice Process: Forensic examination (Scottish Example) If a survivor makes the decision to involve the police it is best to do so as soon as possible after the attack , and within 7 days to capture forensics. Following initial contact with the police, a Sexual Offences Liaison Officer will arrange a forensic examination It is important the survivor tries not to change clothes, wash, take drugs or alcohol before seeing the police. If they do change clothes they are advised to put them in a bag to take to the police. They may be required to attend a few days following an examination for e.g. photographing of bruising They can take someone to the station for support following an examination.

40. The Criminal Justice Process: Police statement (Scottish Example) They will be asked specific details of what happened, what they were doing immediately before the attack, whether they knew the attacker etc. Police guidelines recommend that officers should not ask questions about the person’s sex life that do not relate to the incident. When the statement is finished it will be read back to the survivor and they can add any other details they can think of. If they think of anything later that they missed out of the statement they can contact the officer dealing with the case.

41. The Criminal Justice Process: Role of Procurator Fiscal If the attacker is caught and denies the allegation of rape or assault the PF decides if, in their opinion, there is a case to answer and if there is sufficient evidence. This is the basis on which cases proceed to court. If the case does not proceed to court the survivor will receive a letter to that effect from the PF’s office. The survivor can request a meeting to discuss this more fully. If there are not proceedings it is important to remember that this does not necessarily mean the survivor has not been believed. In Scots law in order to prosecute there must be corroborative evidence – which means 2 pieces of evidence that support each other. The survivor’s statement is 1 piece of evidence but it can be difficult to get sufficient forensic or other evidence to proceed with the case.

42. The Criminal Justice Process: Decision to Proceed (Scottish Example) Initial decision based on police report • Is there enough evidence to prosecute? • Is it in the public interest to prosecute? Must be 2 pieces of corroborating evidence • That the rape/ sexual assault happened • That the person responsible was the accused

43. The Criminal Justice Process: Verdicts • Guilty : conviction : maximum Life sentence : sentences vary usually between 2 -10 years depending on percieved severity of crime or past record of accused. (majority verdict – 8 of 15 jurors must agree) • Not guilty : no conviction • Not proven : accused will go free ‘Not proven’ does not mean the survivor was disbelieved, but there may not have been enough evidence NB Plea negotiation – accused may offer guilty plea to lesser charge

44. The Criminal Justice Process: Timescale for criminal proceedings .

45. The Criminal Justice Process: Withdrawal of complaints There are many reasons for this given the above factors and it is understandable not all survivors feel able to continue. However there can be difficulties associated with withdrawing complaints and we advise to seek advocacy support from Rape Crisis if someone is considering withdrawing.

46. The Criminal Justice Process: Criminal injuries Compensation

47. What difficulties or barriers might the Criminal Justice Process present to survivors? In general? For particular groups of students? (eg. international students, trans students?) In particular circumstances? (eg. for a survivor of familial abuse, for a person raped by their partner.)

48. Barriers faced by survivors during legal process (1) Feeling disbelieved / blamed / not being taken seriously Fear and distress at prospect of giving evidence in court Lack of information and control over role on legal proceedings- can reinforce disempowerment experienced by survivors; survivors report feeling subject to a process they do not feel a part of Length of time between reporting to police and case coming to court- very distressing for survivor, particularly if accused out on bail Memory gaps, due to delay in case coming to court, blocking or repression as coping mechanisms- makes it difficult to recall details of attack as specified in statement

49. Barriers faced by survivors during legal process (2) Lack of recognition or understanding of survival or coping mechanisms that may present as counter-intuitive to those not experienced in impact of rape/ trauma eg survivor returning to work straight after incident ‘Re-traumatisation- feeling raped/ violated again Embarrassment; finding it difficult to find language to describe what happened; feelings of shame, feeling ‘dirty’ or ‘stupid’; feelings of self-blame and self-doubt Impact of societal attitudes- reinforcing survivor’s own negative feelings towards herself Fear of being ‘ripped to shreds’ during cross-examination Use of sexual history and character evidence

50. Bringing it all together: what does a First Response involve?