Time to Erase the Grey on sexual violence

The University and Students’ Union are collaborating to raise awareness of sexual violence this February, through Sexual Violence Awareness Week, which begins today. There are a series of events planned through the week, including:

• ‘Erase the Grey’ campaign across campus
• exhibition at the Attenborough Arts Centre
• Ambassadors in the events square with information leaflets

The University has an established programme of support through its nationally-recognised Standing Togetherwork, and welcomes working with the #metoooncampus campaign to build on this work and raise awareness further. We now have in place:

• report & support to make it easier for students to report instances of sexual harassment and assault
• a team of trained, dedicated Sexual Violence Liaison Officers, to support victims of sexual violence
• specialist counselling support for victims of sexual violence
• professional investigators to ensure all reported instances of sexual violence are fully investigated by the University
• new regulations and procedures to support victims of sexual violence, including a specific Sexual Assault and Harassment Policy, launching later this month.

There are more developments still to come, for example, online consent training will be made available to all students from the next academic year, supported by a programme of bystander training for students, and disclosure training for staff.

The University recognises that there are victims of sexual violence in our community, both now and in the past, who may have not benefitted from recent and planned future changes. In these cases, the University acknowledges some students may have felt unsupported, and we apologise for this.

As a University, we are committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive, welcoming and safe environment for students and staff. Sexual violence has no place in our University community and we will continue to work hard to prevent it happening, taking a victim-centred approach in our support and disciplinary procedures.