University of Leicester experts appointed to prestigious panel on harassment
The University of Leicester’s incoming Vice-Chancellor Professor Nishan Canagarajah and leading expert on hate crime Dr Stevie-Jade Hardy will sit on an elite board to tackle racial harassment in higher education.
The Universities UK advisory group will bring together senior leaders, student representatives and policy experts from across the sector to develop practical guidance on preventing and responding to this hate crime. The guidance will include addressing all forms of racial harassment experienced by students and staff and build on outcomes and recommendations from the pending EHRC inquiry report, to support improvements in policy and practice, and identify 'what works' to ensure all university interventions deliver maximum positive benefit.
Vice-Chancellor Elect Professor Nishan Canagarajah said: “As a university we are committed to working with UUK to develop practical guidance on preventing and responding to racial harassment. I believe that accountability for tackling harassment and hate crime sits with executive teams and I am confident that by leading with this principle we can positively influence future behaviours and outcomes.”
Dr Stevie-Jade Hardy, Associate Professor and Deputy Director of the Centre for Hate Studies, said: “For too long racism within higher education has been regarded as a marginal issue but in reality feeling unwelcome, being excluded, and experiencing targeted hostility is fairly common amongst students and staff from minority ethnic backgrounds. The UUK advisory group offers a welcome opportunity to drive real behavioural change through the development of UK-wide practical guidance on preventing and tackling racial harassment.”
Dr Hardy is also a member of the UK Government's first LGBT advisory panel and her work to create free online training to tackle hate and extremism was cited by Universities UK as being of national importance.
The University of Leicester’s digital training on ‘Hate Crime in Higher Education’ is now available online and will be disseminated by the Office for Students.