CHANGING THE CULTURE | Page 6

ensuring the university is best-equipped to deal with violence against women, harassment and hate crime. Based on the evidence, the Taskforce agreed that there are several steps that universities can take to promote and reinforce positive behaviour within the student population. These include making use of evidence-based bystander initiative programmes and facilitating a culture of zero tolerance. This activity will have knockon benefits for wider society given the large numbers of students who progress through the UK’s higher education system. The Taskforce concluded that partnership working is a fundamental component of preventing and responding to violence against women, harassment and hate crime. Partners, including the police, community leaders and specialist services can be vital in su pporting students, ensuring staff are well trained and assessing the nature and scale of the issues affecting students at a given time. In addition, they can play a crucial role in the development of effective institutional policies and procedures such as the handling of disclosures of sexual violence. By working with local partners, universities can also spread the benefits of their own activities by embedding positive behaviours in social and sporting activities taking place away from university campuses. The evidence also underlined the importance of having visible and accessible reporting mechanisms in place for students, as well as staff who are appropriately trained and sufficiently aware of the support available to students, both on and off campus. Although there is a significant volume of positive activity happening already across the university sector, the Taskforce concluded that much of this work has not been widely shared. This is a missed opportunity. The Taskforce therefore agreed a series of recommendations to facilitate the sharing of university initiatives both within the UK and internationally. Significant concerns were raised about the guidance available to universities on managing situations where a student's disciplinary offence may constitute a criminal offence. Such guidance can be critical in assisting universities to manage cases and provide appropriate support to students. The Taskforce concluded that the existing guidance dating back to 1994 (known as the Zellick guidelines1) requires review. This review is already underway and new guidance will be published in autumn 2016. The growing prevalence of online harassment and hate crime was frequently cited as a serious issue. Further action is needed to support universities to tackle this problem. In summary, the Taskforce identified – from the evidence gathered – a number of recommended actions for universities and Universities UK. These cover several areas The guidance’s official title is Final Report of the Taskforce on Student Disciplinary Procedures [the 1994 Taskforce was chaired by Graham Zellick.] 1 5