CHANGING THE CULTURE | Page 53

 The support offered to the victim/survivor must be tailored to their individual needs. This is essential as individuals will differ in their response to the trauma of sexual violence and every case will be different.  Ideally, an effective response should involve the identification and upskilling of specialist staff within the university to act as the key people who will manage the response to a reported incident of sexual violence affecting a student within the university. To ensure a clear definition of responsibilities, care should be taken to avoid replicating the function of specialist roles such as the police or Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVAs) although specialist staff in the university are likely to liaise closely with both. These specialist staff must be recognised both internally and externally as the ‘go to’ people to ensure that (i) police and specialist agencies can contact them if a student approaches these agencies directly, and (ii) university staff, irrespective of role, know who to refer individuals to for the right support. The ‘go to’ staff will know what specialist external support is available to refer to (any available support will depend on the local area). They will also be able to inform students what their options are including forensics, reporting to the police and available internal and external support. This will empower the victim/survivor to make informed decisions. Giving these staff an easily identifiable title will make their role clear, for example, Sexual Violence Liaison Officer. In summary, the following principles are important to an effective strategic response:  Separate out prevention activities from response  Ensure clear lines of accountability – ultimate accountability should lie with a senior staff member  Have a clear understanding of risk and who owns each risk  Ensure appropriate governance  Embed across all relevant university functions  Involve the student body as much as possible  The support offered must be tailored to meet the needs of the individual  Identify and up-skill ‘go to’ people in the university – make sure all staff are made aware of them OPERATIONAL RESPONSE 166. An effective operational response will be far easier to achieve if the right strategic response is in place to support it. Without a coherent university-wide response, the operational response is likely to be less effective and individuals may fall between the gaps or receive insufficient support. 167. An effective operational response is contingent on universities having a clear process for handling an initial disclosure of sexual violence. If this is insufficient, then there is a high probability that it will lead to a breakdown in the provision 52