Women's Views on News |
| University taskforce report criticised Posted: 15 Nov 2016 04:15 PM PST
As WVoN reported recently, a Taskforce established by Universities UK last year in response to campaigning by the End Violence Against Women Coalition and others, and after high profile cases brought by women who experienced appalling treatment while at university, presented its report at the end of October. The report, called Changing the Culture, was published after a series of exclusive reports in the Guardian revealed the scale of sexual harassment and violence perpetrated by university staff on students and more junior colleagues. Responding to its publication, Sarah Green, co-director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW) welcomed the report ‘as a positive first step in tackling the very high levels of sexual violence and harassment in the UK's universities’. "The recommendations that universities should adopt a 'zero tolerance' approach to sexual assaults and harassment, ensure staff are trained in responding and work in partnership with other agencies are extremely laudable, as is the recognition that the 'Zellick guidelines' had become unlawful and [need] revision," Green said. "But, this is only a first step because while these intentions are good, UUK do not propose any mechanism for enforcement, monitoring is left to individual institutions and there are no recommendations to Government for a change in the law should universities not comply with the recommendations. "The Secretary of State who mandated this Taskforce last year was clear that if universities didn't take action quickly, the Government would step in and consider further regulation. "We need to hear urgently from the Government whether it regards this voluntarism as adequate or whether there should now be external oversight. "While we recognise the effort and reflection in the UUK Taskforce," Green continued, "we strongly feel that given the scale of sexual assaults and harassment in our universities, and given that they serve, educate, house and sometimes provide other welfare services for women from the age of 18, which is the section of the female population most subject to sexual violence, our universities should aim for a standard of protection on a par with safeguarding. "The further education sector already works to this standard (because it educates some students of a slightly younger age). "External regulation would be needed to ensure these standards were met. Legislation may be needed to achieve this. "The Taskforce was established in the wake of women students in the USA and here in the UK revealing their treatment by institutions after abusive behaviour. "There has been a growing realisation that our institutions aren't doing enough to prevent or respond to sexual violence. "The Taskforce gathered evidence from a broad range of stakeholders and specialists and is in a position to provide leadership on this issue. "We hope that the Department for Education will take the next step and show what standards of protection and care it expects UK universities to provide to women students." And 'the next step' is very much needed. For as critics, including the End Violence Against Women Coalition, have said, overall, while the report provides many recommendations regarding peer-on-peer harassment and abuse, this has been a missed opportunity to make it clear that women face abuse from both staff and peers, and that universities need policies which prevent and respond to both scenarios. Reports in the Guardian, for example, detailed the shocking experiences of some post-graduate students at the hands of senior staff, and we all know that staff on student abuse is part of the problem women face. The EVAW Coalition and its supporters would like to see regulations put in place which prevent sexual relationships between staff and students. The EVAW Coalition has pointed out that ‘where the student is a post-graduate and those boundaries are blurred it must be made clear that if you mark someone's work, you can not have a sexual relationship with them. ‘This would go some way to tackling the abusive and exploitative relationships which sometimes form. ‘This report does nothing to tackle that. ‘And it is important in addition to remember that universities have duties under the Equality Act and Human Rights Act. More reference to this in the report and new guidance would have been welomed. ‘Students are not merely ‘consumers’, they have rights and can hold institutions to account when they fail to protect them. ‘Universities have a duty of care to their students and the obligations placed on them mean they have to be proactive in protecting women's rights. ‘This duty is not reflected in the new guidelines.’ Last year Sajid Javid, the then Business Secretary, said this Taskforce will ensure that universities have a plan to stamp out violence against women and provide a safe environment for all their students. The UUK Taskforce has acknowledged that staff-to-student sexual harassment needed to be further addressed, along with online harassment and hate crimes on the grounds of race. "Universities UK will consult with universities, students and interested groups to assess what more can be done in these areas and what further action is necessary," a spokesperson told The Guardian. So the hope is that the Taskforce report is the first step in making that happen.  |
| How to orange the world this year Posted: 15 Nov 2016 03:10 PM PST
The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign is a time to galvanise action to end violence against women and girls around the world. The 16 Days of this now annual event run from 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10 December, Human Rights Day. The 16 Days of Activism is an international campaign that originated from the first Women’s Global Leadership Institute in 1991 and is now coordinated by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL). In support of this civil society initiative, each year, the United Nations Secretary-General's campaign UNiTE to End Violence against Women (UNiTE) calls for global action to increase worldwide awareness about violence against women and girls – and preventing and ending it – and to create opportunities for discussion about challenges and solutions. One of the major challenges efforts aimed at preventing and ending violence against women and girls worldwide face is a substantial funding shortfall. As a result, resources for initiatives are severely lacking. Frameworks such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which include a specific target of ending violence against women and girls, offer huge promise, but must be adequately funded in order to bring the real and significant changes in the lives of women and girls needed. In 2016, the UNiTE campaign is emphasising this need for sustainable financing for efforts to end violence against women and girls in order to specifically ensure the enactment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. To bring this issue to the fore, the focus of the UNiTE campaign in 2016 is 'Orange the World: Raise Money to End Violence against Women and Girls'. This aims to provide a short period of time in which to bring the issue of sustainable financing for initiatives to prevent and end violence against women to global prominence. It also presents an opportunity for mobilising resources for the issue. As in previous years, the colour orange will be a key theme unifying all activities, and buildings and landmarks should be lit and decorated in orange to bring global attention to the initiative. Given this year's theme, raising funds for initiatives to end violence against women and girls will be the key focus of activities. To find out more about this year's Call to Action, click here; and to download the fundraising toolkit click here.  |
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