Gender Based Violence In University Communities

EPUB and EPDF available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. Until recently, higher education in the UK has largely failed to recognise gender-based violence (GBV) on campus, but following the UK government task force set up in 2015, universities are becoming more aware of the issue. And recent cases in the media about the sexualised abuse of power in institutions such as universities, Parliament and Hollywood highlight the prevalence and damaging impact of GBV. In this book, academics and practitioners provide the first in-depth overview of research and practice in GBV in universities. They set out the international context of ideologies, politics and institutional structures that underlie responses to GBV in elsewhere in Europe, in the US, and in Australia, and consider the implications of implementing related policy and practice. Presenting examples of innovative British approaches to engagement with the issue, the book also considers UK, EU and UN legislation to give an international perspective, making it of direct use to discussions of ‘what works’ in preventing GBV.

Stopping Gender-based Violence in Higher Education provides a unique insight into how gender-based violence at universities is impacting students and staff and outlines the path toward tangible changes that can prevent it. Bringing together perspectives from academics, activists, practitioners, and university administrators, the book presents a diverse range of voices to constructively critique the field. Structured in three parts, the book begins by addressing the context, theory, and law that stipulates how universities can effectively respond to reports of gender-based violence. It goes on to discuss the most pragmatic ways to address the issue while contributing to prevention and supporting victim-survivors. Finally, the book advocates for the development of beneficial working partnerships with key external services available to university communities and also working with students as partners in an ethical and safe way. Throughout the book, contributors are invited to demonstrate a comprehensive institution-wide and trauma-informed approach to centre the needs of the victim-survivor and prioritize resources to undertake this vital work. Each chapter ends with a brief summary of key points or recommendations and suggested further reading on the chapter topic. Although the authors draw on research and policy from the UK Higher Education sector, the insights will be a useful resource for those in universities around the world. This book is an essential reference point and resource for professionals, academics, and students in Higher Education, as well as indispensable reading for activists, policymakers, police, rape crisis groups, and other organisations supporting these universities who want to make meaningful change in reducing, responding to, and preventing gender-based violence in Higher Education.

In the midst of unprecedented attention to gender based violence (GBV), prompted in part by the #MeToo movement, Collaborating for Change: Transforming Cultures to End Gender-Based Violence in Higher Education provides a groundbreaking analysis of higher education culture and how it can be transformed to eradicate GBV. This book builds on existing scholarship and practice, offering unique reflections from faculty, staff, and students about potential avenues for change that go beyond programs and policies. It recognizes the important work achieved to date on this topic but argues that transformation of cultures, rather than reform of practices, is now required. Starting from the premise that cultural change must be embedded in groups of people working together, the contributors to the book offer insights into what makes for constructive, effective collaborations between activists in universities and the wider community, as well as with university leaders, managers, and policy-makers. The volume is an interdisciplinary, international account/analysis of attempts to transform higher education cultures in an attempt to eradicate GBV. The chapters, contributed by leading scholars and practitioners in the field, span the experiences of GBV in Canada, the United States, Scotland, England, France, and India. Collaborating for Change reveals the different institutional, political, and cultural contexts in which activists, scholars, and practitioners endeavor to eradicate GBV and provides insights for others engaged in this work around the globe. The book argues that nothing short of a transformation is required to make higher education safe for all.

South African women's still-increasing presence in local, provincial, and national institutions has inspired sweeping legislation aimed at advancing women's rights and opportunity. Yet the country remains plagued by sexual assault, rape, and intimate partner violence. Hannah E. Britton examines the reasons gendered violence persists in relationship to social inequalities even after women assume political power. Venturing into South African communities, Britton invites service providers, religious and traditional leaders, police officers, and medical professionals to address gender-based violence in their own words. Britton finds the recent turn toward carceral solutions—with a focus on arrests and prosecutions—fails to address the complexities of the problem and looks at how changing specific community dynamics can defuse interpersonal violence. She also examines how place and space affect the implementation of policy and suggests practical ways policymakers can support street level workers. Clear-eyed and revealing, Ending Gender-Based Violence offers needed tools for breaking cycles of brutality and inequality around the world.

At least one in four women attending college or university will be sexually assaulted by the time they graduate. Beyond this staggering statistic, recent media coverage of “rape chants” at Saint Mary’s University, misogynistic Facebook posts from Dalhousie University’s dental school, and high-profile incidents of sexual violence at other Canadian universities point to a widespread culture of rape on university campuses and reveal universities’ failure to address sexual violence. As university administrations are called to task for their cover-ups and misguided responses, a national conversation has opened about the need to address this pressing social problem. This book takes up the topic of sexual violence on campus and explores its causes and consequences as well as strategies for its elimination. Drawing together original case studies, empirical research, and theoretical writing from scholars and community and campus activists, this interdisciplinary collection charts the costs of campus sexual violence on students and university communities, the efficacy of existing university sexual assault policies and institutional responses, and historical and contemporary forms of activism associated with campus sexual violence.

While promoting access to resources and systems of support for those affected by gender-based violence is absolutely crucial, this new book focuses attention on the important question of how communities can take action to prevent violence and abuse. Using examples of current research and practice, the book explores the actions that can be taken in individual sectors of society, our schools, faith communities, campuses, on our streets and using new popular technologies. The contributors draw on global examples to highlight the importance of learning from the study of the interaction between socio-political contexts and effective policies and strategies to address gender-based violence. Chapters take up the challenge of exploring the construction of effective programmes that address cognitive, affective and behavioural domains. They discuss what people know, how they feel and how they behave, and include the important challenge of how to engage men in working towards the elimination of gender-based violence, offering positive messages which build on men’s values and predisposition to act in a positive manner. Importantly, such strategies place the responsibility for preventing gender-based violence on the society as a whole rather than on vulnerable individuals. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in gender studies, women’s studies, social work, sociology, law and health studies. Its unique approach focuses on the achievement of prevention at the earliest possible stage and examines the issue through a society-wide, but community-focused lens.

"In this practical guide for higher education professionals who work in student affairs, the authors lay out a community-based model aimed at eliminating sexual misconduct of all kinds on college campuses"--

Violence and insecurity are among the most important issues facing communities in the 21st century. Both family violence and community violence are rapidly rising in the urbanizing nations of theSouth and richer nations are also facing increased concern about the health, social, economic and environmental costs of violence and crime. The Handbook of Community Safety, Gender and Violence Prevention is the first book to gather together research and examples, from a gendered perspective, of local, regional and international interventions that work to prevent crime, violence and insecurity. Case studies of successful initiatives from every continent, in settings that vary from large cities to rural areas, are analysed to provide cross-cultural lessons of what works and what doesn t. The book presents essential practical advice to professionals such as: how to obtain diagnostic information on incidence and impacts of violence; how to develop, maintain and evaluate policies and programmes that can effectively promote community safety; and how to create trust and effectiveness in partnerships.