of harassment. Throughout the app there are links to advice on where and how to get help. It should be noted that this is an advice app – it does not include the facility to report an incident.
The two organisations held brainstorming workshops during their Anti-Violence Valentine ' s Conference on 14 February 2015, before holding technical workshops teaching coding to female participants. Participants contributed pages to the app, and once a draft app was made, took part in a feedback workshop to offer suggestions for improvements. Feedback was incorporated into the next technical workshops, which were followed by another feedback workshop. The cycle repeated until the app was completed.
CASE STUDY 12: BRUNEL UNIVERSITY LONDON – UNIVERSITIES SUPPORTING VICTIMS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE: TRAINING FOR SUSTAINABLE SERVICES( USVSV) # USVREACT
The‘ Universities Supporting Victims of Sexual Violence: Training for Sustainable Services’( USVSV; # USVreact) is a European Commission co-funded project to enhance the ability of university staff to respond to disclosures of sexual violence from students. The project is led by Brunel University in London, and includes seven partners and seven associate partners across seven European countries.‘ Best practice’ in first responses to disclosure has been reviewed in each local context and used to develop culturally and institutionally appropriate programmes for university staff. Each university is developing, piloting and evaluating a programme with 80 of its own staff.
At Brunel University London, the project has been developed with an intentionally large steering group. Information about the USVreact project was shared widely among leaders and staff. A number of meetings took place with individuals to explain the remit of the project, and its potential for supporting and enhancing the work of existing services at the university. Colleagues with academic and professional roles were invited to join the steering group and collaborate on the project on the basis of their broader role in student welfare, advice and / or policy-making. Students were also invited to join. The steering group consists of students and staff from chaplaincy; counselling; equality and diversity; residences; security; sports centre; staff development; student welfare; Union of Brunel Students; the university safeguarding lead supported by the deputy vice-chancellor( education), the provice-chancellor( equality, diversity and staff development) and the dean of research. This breadth is essential for the sustainability of the project in both the short and long term.
The group has met monthly to discuss the national and local context and develop the programme which will be rolled out to staff in spring 2017. Brunel University London is looking at ways of involving all staff in the programme, including new staff as part of their induction. The university is also developing a concise resource for dissemination to all staff which outlines the steps to take if a student discloses and the services both within the university and in the local area that students can be directed to. The learning from the evaluation of the project at Brunel University London will be shared with the project partners, and the programmes for staff made available free of charge, via an online portal. The project findings conference will take place on 9 November 2017 in London.
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