Changing the Culture: 7 years on
Changing the Culture was launched by Universities UK in 2016 as the strategic framework for institutions’ anti-harassment work in the student community across Scotland and the rest of the UK.
Earlier this month, Universities Scotland published a new report: Changing the Culture: 7 years on which highlights progress made by institutions since the report was first published in 2016. The data reflects a considerable amount of work undertaken over the last five years, since the last update in 2019.
The report focuses on 4 pillars: the role of the senior leadership team, an institution wide approach, preventative actions, and effective strategies for response.
Key statistics noted within the report:
- 63% of institutions work with survivors and those with lived experience to inform their strategic approach to anti-harassment, up from only a third who indicated they did so in 2019.
- 79% of institutions have adopted trauma-informed processes for student misconduct, with 74% having done so since 2019.
- 89% of institutions have a dedicated reporting tool in place in 2024 (in addition to other mechanisms for reporting, such as in-person) compared to less than one-third in 2019.
- 100% of institutions offer training programmes to staff in support of this agenda. That has risen from 69% of institutions in 2019.
The report includes some real-life examples from Scottish institutions and offers reflections for areas of activity which may benefit from discussion and knowledge exchange with colleagues and organisations within the sector.
We know that student’s experience of harassment negatively impacts their mental health. Some of the work done on anti-harassment within Scottish institutions could link in to the work being done within Student Mental Health Agreements.
