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University’s harassment policy reforms can only be good news

After 7 years of negotiations, OUSU have finally managed to push through reforms of the university harassment policy which offer a far larger base of protection to victims of harassment. One of the main achievements has been the provisions for sexual violence, including sexual assault and stalking, which are now included as part of the policy.

The NUS’s 2010 report, Hidden Marks, highlights the endemic nature of sexual violence towards women at university. One in four students had experienced serious physical or sexual assault during their time as a student, and over two thirds had experienced some kind of verbal or non-verbal harassment in and around their institution, leading to such occurrences being considered ‘everyday’ for some. The study also highlights the now widely known fact that perpetrators of sexual violence are usually known to the victims, and the majority of perpetrators were fellow students.

Due to the prevalence of this behaviour, NUS recommends a ‘zero-tolerance’ approach to non-verbal and verbal sexual harassment. Hidden Marks stresses that their research shows an acceptance of ‘low level’ intimidating or aggressive behaviour has normalising effects on ‘high level’ violence, and these cases are thus less likely to be dealt with effectively. Such an approach would “send out a strong signal to both staff and students that such behaviour is unacceptable both within and outside of the learning environment” and “create an environment in which women students are able to participate with dignity and confidence”.

It is therefore incredibly heartening that the university has broken its previous blanket silence on sexual violence as a form of harassment. As anyone who is a member of ‘Everyday Sexism’ can attest, occurrences of sexual violence at university are rife, and certain elements of higher education culture appear to encourage it. These changes to the University’s policy show a step towards creating the much needed zero-tolerance culture towards sexual violence.

Other improvements to the policy are the inclusion of online harassment, clarity on the university involvement in criminal cases, and a new support office, the Student Welfare and Support Services, where specially trained officers can help with informal and formal complaints. The policy also clearly states the 6 week timescale within which students can expect their complaints to be dealt with.

A significant change has been to focus on supporting the survivor, rather than adopting an attitude of disbelief. Previous harassment college policies included intimidating language and seemed more focused on weaselling out liars than protecting those that had suffered sexual violence. As the March 2013 Crown Prosecution Report states very clearly, the public perception of the frequency of false rape allegations is far greater than police data shows to be true. During 2011-2012, there were 5,651 prosecutions for rape and 111,891 for domestic violence. During the same period there were 35 prosecutions for making false allegations of rape, 6 for making false allegation of domestic violence and 3 for making false allegations of both rape and domestic violence.

The bulk of those people making false allegations, which amount to less than one percent of all rape charges, were “often vulnerable people” and some had “mental health difficulties”. The report goes on to state that, “Prosecutors need to look critically at the behaviour and credibility of all those involved, not just the person making the complaint.” That the report would have to stipulate examining the “credibility” of others instead of just “the person making the complaint” is a striking example of the ingrained dismissive attitude towards survivors of sexual violence, stemming from misogynistic views that teach us to distrust women. This culture of automatically distrusting the survivor is a key factor in ensuring the perpetuation of rape culture, as it teaches people that the account of the victim will be met with distrust and scepticism.

The report goes on to state that, “The events of the last year have demonstrated that there is an urgent need for an informed national debate about the proper approach to the investigation and prosecution of sexual offences. That debate needs to extend well beyond the CPS and the police.” It is thus incredibly heartening that the University has responded to the pressure applied by Sarah Pine, OUSU VP for Women, and the ‘It Happens Here’ campaign, and has subsequently updated the harassment policy. Although this is any a small step on the road towards ensuring that women feel safe in the university, and any (hopefully) rare cases of sexual violence are dealt with efficiently and sensitively, it should be not be overlooked.

Yet these bureaucratic changes can only go so far. Without initiatives from diverse groups across the student body, sexual violence may remain endemic. Such initiatives are especially crucial from groups which wield greater amounts of institutional power.

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