Developing Bystander Intervention in a UK/English context.’

Bovill, Helen

Abstract

Developing Bystander Intervention in a UK/English context.
Campus sexual violence has been under-researched in the UK. British Crime Survey Statistics demonstrating the prevalence of violence towards women changed this landscape. The British Government published ‘End Violence Against Women’ in 2010. A UK study by National Union of Students (NUS) surveyed female students about perceptions of safety and experiences of harassment, stalking and sexual assault. 2058 responses were received, headline findings were:
• 68% experienced some form of verbal or non-verbal harassment.
• 12% subject to stalking.
• 16% experienced unwanted kissing, touching or molesting.
• 7% subject to serious sexual assault. (NUS 2010, 3).
Further research followed (Phipps, 2013; Cambridge Study on Sexual Violence 2014). In 2016 Universities UK published ‘Changing the Culture’ obligating UK universities to develop strategies to manage violence and harassment. The Higher Education Funding Council for England announced a range of catalyst funds from 2016. This research emanates from one of these funds.
In 2014 a Bystander Toolkit was developed by the University of the West of England (UWE), an 8 hour intervention drawing upon similar US programmes. This paper reports on working with students to develop this programme into a social norms media campaign of: a 3 minute film, posters, and a shortened Bystander programme; targeting behaviours to become socially proscribed.

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (unpublished)
• Start Date: Jul 1, 2018
• Deposit Date: Jul 22, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 3, 2020
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1640395