Thursday 25th November marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and with this starts the campaign of 16 days of action against gender-based violence.
Throughout these 16 days, we welcome you to participate in all the different events that UWS is putting on. We want to highlight that many of the themes and contents will address sexual and gender-based violence. The University wants to highlight its continued commitment to support anybody who has experienced gender-based violence and to end sexual violence on campus and in wider society. If you require support, you can access different support options here and here.
Thursday 25th November 2021
We are starting the first day of the campaign with a wide variety of inputs and events.
Firstly, you can read our opening statement for the 16 days by our Provost & Deputy Principal/Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Senior Gender Champion Lucy Meredith below:
Our VP Student Support from the Students’ Union has recorded a video launching the campaign which you can see on the Students’ Union pages. Our first event wants to recognise the importance of creating a safe campus experience for everyone. Today’s training is designed for staff in student-facing roles and focuses on the new Report and Support tool and how it can be used to report any incidence of bullying and harassment on campus and help access the various support options available internally at UWS and externally. It starts at 2pm and staff can sign up for the training here (Training Portal). The Report and Support tool can be accessed via this website here: https://reportandsupport.uws.ac.uk/
Friday 26th November 2021
Keeping you Safe – Spiking
Police Scotland continue to investigate a small number of reports across the country from individuals who report having been “spiked” either with a needle or in their drink. Spiking is a criminal offence primarily targeted at women, but anyone could be at risk. There have been no reported incidents of this nature in UWS or the Student Union, however UWS are passing this safety information to all staff and students to ensure that they are aware of this safety information.
Police Scotland statement regarding spiking by injection - Police Scotland
UWS and the Student Union have a zero tolerance approach to gender based violence or any form of harassment or aggression. Further information for staff and students in relation to gender-based violence can be found on Report + Support - University of the West of Scotland (uws.ac.uk)
Staff or Students on any campus can also get assistance by pressing the alert button on the SafeZone app, contact 2222 for First Aid or 0141 848 3168 for UWS Security.
UWS supports staff to support students, please remember that there is a wide range of support available for students from Student Services. Students can contact the Hub or the out-of-hours helpline 0800 028 3766 between 5pm and 9am, and 24-hours over the weekend for immediate emotional support.
All UWS staff and immediate family can instantly access free, confidential, personalised health and wellbeing advice and resources 24/7 365 days of the year via our Employee Assistance Programme, Health Assured. Contact the EAP by phone on 0844 891 0357 or log in on the web, Username: university Password: westscotland or download the My Healthy Advantage App using employer code MHA008428 and following details on how to register for interactive support for all your health needs.
Ensuring all venues are safe from assault and harassment such as drink spiking is a collective responsibility. All venues that are licensed to sell alcohol have a legal duty for public safety and the prevention of crime and disorder on their premises, and this is monitored by their local authority. These licenses to sell alcohol usually include conditions to ensure venues have appropriate security and staff training in place.
National health promotion guidance is also available from Drink spiking and date rape drugs | Drinkaware
The Student Union venues aim to offer a safe and enjoyable experience to UWS students. The responsibility of safety does not lie with the victims of these attacks.
The Union, have safety measures and reporting tools in place to support students.
These include introducing further measures such as offering drinks covers and testing kits in their bar areas. These can be asked for when ordering drinks.
They are also reminding students that if at any time, they feel unsafe or uncomfortable in a Union space, to speak to a member of staff who are there to provide support. They can contact medical help or police on the student’s behalf. They operate the ‘Ask for Angela’ scheme for incidents when an individual needs to ask for help subtly. All incidents will be reported to UWS and Police Scotland.
The ‘Ask for Angela’ scheme is also available in across bars and restaurants across the UK.
Police Scotland are encouraging anyone who believes they have had their drink spiked or been assaulted by spiking to contact Police Scotland on 101 or in an emergency 999.
Saturday 27th November 2021
Fighting gender-based violence and supporting individuals who have or are experiencing it is incredibly important. Here at UWS we commit to ensure consistent, caring and timely responses, as well as a focus on preventative action. When fighting gender-based violence, the power lies in numbers and collaboration and multi-agency work is an invaluable part of this in order to ensure an environment where we can learn from and with each other to combat GBV in our University communities and beyond.
UWS has developed partnerships with specialist support organisations to better support students and staff. Look at this page to find out about different options of support you can access on and off campus.
Sunday 28th November 2021
On this first weekend of this year’s 16 Days campaign, we want to use the opportunity together with the Students’ Union to raise awareness around the “Ask Angela” campaign. If you are out on a date and it doesn’t feel safe for you anymore with the person you are with, bar staff are often trained to offer support discreetly when asked for “Angela”. Look at this video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezAbzeSGw-E&t=89s
Monday 29th November 2021
We are delighted to promote this event from 10am-11am by Glasgow East Women’s Aid, who are delivering an event with The Young Women's Movement.
The Young Women's Movement is a feminist organisation and part of a worldwide movement of women leading change.
This event is open to anyone interested in learning more about Young Women Rise's current project looking at young women in Scotland's understanding of healthy relationships and domestic abuse.
Tuesday 30th November 2021
Today’s focus is on highlighting support available at UWS if you or anybody you know has experienced gender-based violence.
You can check out this video for an exploration of the multidisciplinary support mechanisms on offer at UWS and beyond.
https://www.powtoon.com/ws/dVX8yGTvbVP/1/m
Information on reporting and support available can also be accessed via our Report and Support tool. https://reportandsupport.uws.ac.uk/
Wednesday 1st December 2021
GBV workshop Women’s Aid
Today, we are offering two really important events connected to GBV. You can join us today at 10am-12:30pm for this great opportunity to learn together with Women's Aid about GBV and domestic violence and increase your awareness around the topic in a friendly, safe and collaborative environment. The gender-based violence (GBV) workshops are aimed at students to learn more about where GBV stems from, be more informed about domestic abuse and the different forms of it and how to support women affected by it.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/208447109917
Introduction SilverCloud Bite-Sized 12noon-12:30pm
Supporting your mental health is important in all aspects of life, however, experiencing gender-based violence can drastically increase mental health difficulties. Today, we would like to raise awareness about SilverCloud, an online mental health and wellbeing platform that is freely accessible for UWS students and looks at a variety of important different topics, such as anxiety, depression and many more.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/192310655347
Thursday 2nd December 2021
One week since the start of the of the 16 days against gender-based violence, why not make some time to look at this excellent training package that will help you understand the nature, extend and impact of gender-based violence (GBV). You can do this workshop in your own time and revisit it throughout the year.
Sunday 5th December 2021
We want to use today to raise awareness of the new Report and Support tool that the University has launched this academic year. The Report and Support tool can be used to report any incidence of bullying and harassment on campus and help access the various support options available internally at UWS and externally. You can learn more about it by watching this video here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c32amd-_fmU or by clicking on this link: https://reportandsupport.uws.ac.uk/
Tuesday 7th December 2021
GBV workshop – Women’s Aid, Paisley
Join us today at 10am-1pm for this great opportunity to learn together with Women's Aid about GBV and domestic violence and increase your awareness around the topic in a friendly, safe and collaborative environment. The gender-based violence (GBV) workshops are aimed at students to learn more about where GBV stems from, be more informed about domestic abuse and the different forms of it and how to support women affected by it.
Wednesday 8th December 2021
Exploring Relationships Workshop
Reflective Workshop for Students – delivered by UWS Wellbeing Service
We invite you to participate in a workshop on ‘Exploring Relationships’. This reflective workshop will allow participants to explore what shapes how they think about relationships, work on increasing an understanding of healthy relationships, unhealthy and abusive relationships and explore avenues of support. UWS students can sign up via this link and join us from 12:30pm to 3:30pm.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/211647813307
Thursday 9th December 2021
UWS recognises the impact on all aspects of life GBV can have on a person experiencing it. Trauma and trauma symptoms are often associated with GBV- and they are recognised to possibly impact both personally and professionally. Murray, a counsellor from the UWS counselling and wellbeing team will be offering a short introduction to the general topic of trauma.
Follow this link to sign up for the event, which will take place from 11am to 12noon.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/214526503547
Friday 10th December 2021
This last day of the campaign will provide staff with the opportunity to take part in GBV training with East Glasgow Women’s Aid from 10am to 12:30pm. This training will have a focus on the University context and the experience of domestic abuse. Anybody, staff and students alike can be affected and raising our awareness and identifying ways of supporting people experiencing GBV is vital to support a safe and thriving University environment for everybody.
Aside from all our events today, we want to use this last day to acknowledge that GBV is not limited to 16 days a year.
In order to raise awareness and encourage access to support, we encourage all staff to include resources for support around GBV in their email banner all year round. A guidance document will be issued today.
Gender-based violence is often written and talked about in the ‘us and them’ perspective, but UWS recognises that gender-based violence can affect anyone, whether this is through personal experiences of gender-based violence or through the ripple effect that GBV has in our families, communities and places of work and study. We recognise that engaging in these topics can feel overwhelming and create a need to talk, get support or to gain clarification. We want to encourage everybody to reach out and access the support they need.
Rape Crisis Scotland 0141 331 4180
Women’s Aid Scotland 0131 226 6606
Samaritans 0330 094 5717
University Counselling and Wellbeing Service hub@uws.ac.uk / 0141 848 3800