19 December 2019 
Martin Higgs, Communications Officer
In the third of her short articles on her recent US Study Tour, Rhona Bain of Edinburgh Napier University shares information on the recently launched campaign activity at the university.
3: #ItsNeverOK
Back at home, I have been heavily involved in supporting Edinburgh Napier’s new #NeverOK strategy which launched at the end of November.
The Napier strategy is built around four key strategic objectives with the aim of creating a culture which will not tolerate sexual violence, assault or harassment. Much of the work revolves around ensuring that our students and our staff recognise and understand their options if they wish to disclose and to ensure that any survivor receives appropriate support.
As a trained Sexual Violence and Misconduct Liaison Officer (SVMLO), I have been heavily involved in establishing this role, along with colleagues who have also undergone the training. It has been really important to us to consider how this role is working in other institutions and how we can either replicate or tailor the provision to suit our own campus model. S
Our 3 year strategy also focuses on training for staff and students, specifically in terms of how to take a disclosure and how to sign post to relevant support, including to the SVMLO officers. We will be rolling out both face to face and online training and will have a specific focus this year on those students entering first year and specifically those who will be living in University accommodation. For staff, we are initially focusing on those staff in student facing roles, including accommodation managers and security staff who are often in the position to take a first disclosure and support a victim.
As part of our launch at the end of November, we also launched our new Report and Support tool and are the second Scottish University to do so. Report and Support is an online tool open to all staff and students and it provides the opportunity to disclose and report discrimination of any kind, including that of a sexual nature. There is the facility within this tool to also report anonymously and for the victim to be sign posted to the right support. On speaking with other HEs across the UK who have already introduced this tool, they all shared a similar experience. In the first 3 months of introduction there was a marked spike in the number of reports. This is seen as a measure of success and evidence of a supportive culture for staff and students where they feel they have a place to share their experiences and know, if they want, that support will be available and again, if they want, action would be taken.
And finally, one of the areas we are really focusing on is our engagement with external agencies, for example, Police Scotland, NHS Scotland and Rape Crisis Edinburgh. It is really important for those who are undertaking the SVMLO role to get to know our main points of contacts and develop a strong working relationship with one another. Police Scotland delivered a session for the SVMLOs very recently which was invaluable, guiding us in our practice and ensuring our approach is “survivor led” at all times.
Carry on reading - this is the third of Rhona Bain's three articles on her US experience
