Universities should develop a clear, accessible and representative disclosure
response for incidents of sexual violence and rape, working with relevant external
agencies where appropriate.
This should be communicated at regular intervals to all staff, including at
inductions for new starters, and should be readily accessible. This should include
a clear care pathway which includes details of external support services that
students can be signposted to and the different options available to them. It
should also make clear where victims/survivors should be referred to within the
university to access appropriate support. Universities should also identify relevant
staff to receive specialised disclosure training using appropriate specialist services
in the region.
An effective, centralised process for recording incidents, collecting data
and regularly reviewing this data
113. Evidence from wider stakeholders clearly showed that many institutions do not
have systematic recording processes in place, or a centralised point where data
is stored and collected. EVAW expressed a particular concern in relation to the
effectiveness of the recording of incidents of sexual harassment and violence
against women. These concerns arose following Freedom of Information
requests which revealed ‘significant disparities’ in the ways that institutions
record incidents. It is for institutions to determine how to record this sensitive
data, but data collection and recording processes should be robust and
consistent across an institution.
114. The evidence emphasises the need for a systematic, institution-wide approach to
recording and data collection. Decentralised or devolved systems can impact on
an institution’s ability to record complaints and incidents effectively. This theme
also featured in a number of institutional responses which described how
complaints may be made via different routes or to different members of staff,
resulting in data existing in various places and not always being collated
centrally to give a clear sense of the scale of an issue.
115. The reporting procedures and recording of incidents will be clo sely related. It
follows that effective reporting procedures will enable more efficient data
collection. This in turn should allow for improved monitoring and evaluation of
policies and interventions.
Universities should take reasonable and practicable steps to implement a
centralised reporting system. This should offer students different accessible
mechanisms to report incidents, allow for anonymity if preferred and signpost
individuals to relevant internal and external support. Any system should enable
accurate data to be captured to determine the scale of a problem and track yearon-year trends.
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