Conclusion: setting the agenda for challenging gender based violence in universities

This concluding chapter consolidates some of the book's key themes, such as the analysis of gender based violence (GBV) in university settings as part of the continuum of violence that includes sexual violence and sexual harassment; a gendered understanding of and approach to GBV in universities; and student activism to challenge GBV. It also discusses a jigsaw of responses to tackle GBV, including curriculum-based initiatives such as bystander programmes; the roles of various actors, such as academics, students and feminist communities — in collaboration and as collectives — in this jigsaw of strategies; and gaps and possibilities in current research and practice. Finally, the chapter considers the future directions of activism, policy, practice and research on the issue of GBV in university communities and offers some suggestions about the nature of activism and action that can address this problem as well as the role that academic research can play in this process.

Sexual violence on US college campuses: history and challenges

This chapter discusses the history of sexual violence in US universities to see where things have changed and where they have not. It first explains the relevant terms, such as ‘higher education institution’, ‘college’ and ‘university’ as well as ‘on campus’, ‘sexualised violations’, and ‘sexual misconduct’. It then reviews the early research which overlooked the gendered nature of campus sexual violence, the initial efforts that sought to ‘teach women how to stay safe’ which were critiqued for implicit victim-blaming, and more recent prevention approaches which focus on bystander intervention and the role of friends, peers and social networks in preventing violence. It also examines victimisation and perpetration, along with the interrelationships between perpetration dynamics, campus culture and institutional governance. The chapter concludes with an analysis of issues relating to policy framing and victims' formal reporting.

Introduction: some reflections in these promising and challenging times

This introduction discusses the context and contours of some of the recent and emerging debates on gender based violence (GBV) in university communities. It begins by defining GBV as ‘behaviour or attitudes underpinned by inequitable power relations that hurt, threaten or undermine people because of their (perceived) gender or sexuality’. GBV encompasses a continuum of behaviours and attitudes such as domestic violence, sexual violence, and expressions on social media which normalise sexism and sexual objectification. This introduction explains the nature of the problem associated with GBV, how to understand and respond to the possibilities and challenges that it presents, and how gender as a lens is increasingly becoming obscured when considering the causes and consequences of GBV. It also argues that we need to rethink the punitive responses, service provision and prevention education used to address GBV in universities. Finally, it provides an overview of the chapters that follow.

Preventing gender based violence in UK universities: the policy context

This chapter examines the policy context of prevention work on gender based violence (GBV) in UK universities, with a focus on Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It first provides an overview of the current situation facing UK universities as they develop their responses to GBV before contextualising this by identifying the key factors that influence GBV policy in each country using a three-point conceptual framework. It then reviews current developments in universities' approaches to the issue of GBV in their national context and concludes with a discussion of the opportunities and challenges facing the UK higher education sector as it develops its approach to GBV prevention. The chapter proposes a theoretical framework that involves a gendered analysis and a whole sector response, along with intervention and prevention programmes that include universities getting involved in local coordinated community responses to GBV and adopting a whole systems approach to GBV.

The Intervention Initiative: theoretical underpinnings, development and implementation

This chapter examines the theoretical underpinnings, development and implementation of The Intervention Initiative (TII), a public health intervention toolkit developed at the University of the West of England for use by all universities in the prevention of sexual and domestic violence (SDV). TII is an evidence-based programme predicated on bystander theories, social norms theory, the criteria for effective prevention programming, and the transtheoretical model of behaviour change (TTM). The chapter first considers intermediate outcome measures (for example, sexist attitudes, denial of violence as a problem, knowledge about violence) that can be used to evaluate bystander programmes for university settings. It then discusses the evidence base and the theoretical rationale for TII to demonstrate how it takes participants through each stage of change required for bystanders to intervene. It also offers policy recommendations for further implementation of the programme in the context of current agendas for the university sector.

Using the law to challenge gender based violence in university communities

This chapter considers the progressive potential of the existing legal frameworks, such as human rights and equality legislation, to challenge gender based violence (GBV) in university communities. It first highlights the limitations of existing university responses to sexual violence against students before explaining how the existing law could be used more to protect and provide justice for survivors of GBV, as well as bring about much-needed change in the accountability of universities and respect for women's rights. These laws include the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Equality Act 2010 in the UK, European and international law and instruments such as the Istanbul Convention, the European Union Victims' Directive, and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The chapter also examines how those laws have been used in action by individuals and campaigning groups to improve university approaches.

Grounds for concern: an Australian perspective on responses to sexual assault and harassment in university settings

This chapter examines the limited attention given to prevention within Australian policy responses to sexual assault and harassment in university settings. It draws on the findings of Change the Course: National Report on Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment at Australian Universities, released by the Australian Human Rights Commission in 2017. The chapter first describes the historical and political context for the survey, which was initiated in response to the problem of sexual violence in Australian campuses. It then considers the initial steps taken following the release of the survey with the goal of strengthening Australian university responses to sexual harassment and assault. It also discusses recent developments from universities with regard to the problem of sexual violence and some of the key challenges that need to be addressed. Finally, it suggests a long-term approach to address sexual assault and harassment that shifts the focus from risk management to harm prevention.

Tackling gender based violence in university communities: a practitioner perspective

This chapter describes an approach, dubbed Get Savi (Students Against Violence Initiative), for tackling gender based violence (GBV) in university communities. Get Savi was developed and delivered in Scotland between 2012 and 2015. The chapter first provides an overview of the broader policy and political context in which the Get Savi programme was developed, with particular emphasis on the importance of a political consensus around the causes of violence against women and girls (VAWG). It then examines the practical process underlying the development of the Get Savi programme, along with the role of partnerships in the development and in the re-imagining of the prevention education programme for a Scottish audience. Finally, it considers some of the ongoing challenges and draws together learnings from the project to make recommendations for future policies and programmes on prevention education for student communities in the UK and beyond.

Student feminist activism to challenge gender based violence

This chapter examines how feminist student activism in UK and US universities is resisting and challenging gender based violence (GBV), as well as the ways that the feminists' work is fostered by community building and connection. Drawing on data from a qualitative study of young women feminists in UK and US universities, the chapter investigates how feminist communities help young feminists to find their voice and to speak out about GBV. The chapter first considers how, in addition to developing effective systems of accountability, student activism is resisting GBV in universities and creating cultures which support freedom, resistance and respect. More specifically, it shows how students are coming together to form feminist communities to challenge the attitudes, behaviours and institutional practices that support GBV, while also developing pragmatic and theoretical approaches to GBV. It argues that feminist communities play a vital role in the struggle against GBV in universities.

‘Lad culture’ and sexual violence against students1

This chapter explores the issue of sexual violence against students in relation to the concept of ‘lad culture’. Adopting a more nuanced approach to the understanding of campus sexual violence and the masculine cultures that frame it, the chapter places such issues within the institutional cultures of neoliberal competitively driven universities. The chapter discusses the results of a 2013 study conducted by the National Union of Students (NUS) in the UK showing that many of the behaviours associated with lad culture, including sport, heavy alcohol consumption, casual sex and sexist/discriminatory ‘banter’, constituted sexual harassment. It theorises sexual violence and laddish masculinities in order to better understand them and develop effective interventions. It also considers how power and privilege, as well as patriarchy, neoliberalism and carceral feminism, intersect in student lad culture.