Violence at University Pilot Project

Tackling violence, harassment and hate crime is high on the agenda for UK universities. Since 2010 the National Union of Students has conducted surveys that evidence problematic behaviours within university settings, including sexual harassment and unwanted sexual advances amongst the student population (NUS, 2010; NUS, 2014).

Further research also provides evidence of staff sexual misconduct and predatory behaviours (NUS 2018), as well as racial and homophobic harassment, prejudice and (cyber)-bullying (EHRC 2019; Formby 2017; Myers & Cowie 2017).

The impact that violence, harassment and experiences of hate crime has on any age, but especially young people is considerable. Studies suggest not only long-term damage to self-esteem, emotional health and wellbeing (Myers and Cowie, 2016), but also increased propensity to contemplate suicide or self-harm, develop an eating disorder and engage in substance abuse (Stenning, MitraKahn and Gunby, 2012).

Evidence also suggests that experiences of violence can negatively impact students’ academic attainment, as well as damage universities’ institutional reputation and negatively affect student retention and recruitment. In light of this growing body of evidence, Universities UK (UUK) in 2016 launched ‘Changing the Culture’, a strategic framework to support universities to prevent and respond to violence against women, harassment and hate crimes affecting university students.

Follow-up reports in 2018 and 2019 demonstrate that although some progress has been made, as Professor Julia Buckingham, UUK’s President, states “there is much more to be done, with progress still variable across the higher education sector.” (UUK 2017; 2018).

Further work is therefore required to better understand HEI’s awareness and prioritisation of violence, harassment and hate crime, and to identify what can be done to reduce incidences of violence within university settings. One of the key gaps in understanding the prevalence of violence at university is sector wide data collection. In order to begin to address this knowledge gap, the team running these interviews, carried out a feasibility study to see if violence could be measured in all of its forms.

The results of this study can be found here:

Myers, C-A. et al., (2023) Violence at University Pilot Project: Student Experiences of violence, harassment and discrimination, City Research Online.

Although this is a step in the right direction, there is still a long way to go.

The purpose of the interview is to inform and improve our survey design, helping us to advocate for a safer and more supportive university environment for students in the future.

You must be over the age of 18 to take part and be enrolled to study at a UK University (during the academic year 2023-24).

If you have recently suspended or paused your studies for any reason (i.e., within the current academic year), you can still participate. You can also participate if you are on a placement year in industry/abroad as part of your studies.

All interview data (quotes) will be anonymised. This means we will not identify any specific individuals within the findings or the final report.

Our research team will be conducting 121 interviews with university students about their experiences and views related to:

• Student welfare and wellbeing
• Student safety and support
• University policies and practices
• Ways to address misconduct or problematic behaviour (e.g. thoughts on preventing, reporting, and responding to incidents)

Interviews will take approximately 45-minutes – 1 hour, at a pre-arranged time convenient to you.

Participants can choose whether they’d prefer the interview to be carried out:

1. over the phone
2. online (via MS Teams), or
3. in person (on-site, e.g. an office space)

The interviews will be recorded (audio only) and a transcript made of the interview.

This is to ensure accuracy of any quotes used within the final report/key findings. The audio recordings and complete transcripts will not be available to anyone outside of the research team.

Those agreeing to interview will be provided with further information about the study, an overview of the topic guide (key questions & themes), and a £30.00 Amazon voucher as a thank you for their time.

Taking part is voluntary and you can skip any questions/areas you do not wish to answer.

You also have the right to withdraw from the study at any time, and you do not have to give a reason for this.

Interviews are confidential. This means no personal information will be shared with anyone outside of the research team unless there’s a serious risk of harm or a legal requirement.

All interview data (quotes) will be anonymised prior to publication. This means there will be nothing within the final report or publications that risks identifying any individuals.

Interviews may include discussions about your identity; however this is not compulsory. We understand that this data is personal and sensitive. It is up to you how much this plays a role in your interview responses. By capturing this information, it may help universities to tailor support services for those who need it most and contribute to efforts to tackle inequalities in university provision. Participation is voluntary and any questions you do not wish to answer can be skipped.

City, University of London is the sponsor and the data controller of this study based in the United Kingdom. This means that we are responsible for looking after your information and using it properly. The legal basis under which your data will be processed is City’s public task. Your right to access, change or move your information are limited, as we need to manage your information in a specific way in order for the research to be reliable and accurate. To safeguard your rights, we will use the minimum personal-identifiable information possible (for further information please see the ICO’s guide to GDPR).

All data gathered for this project will be collected, stored and shared in accordance with City University of London’s Data Protection Policy and Information Security Policy, to make sure it is kept safe and secure.

Data will be transferred for analysis in a password-protected folder that is only accessible to the approved research team (via Microsoft SharePoint). Read more about security and compliance controls in MS SharePoint.

City policy dictates that we keep this data on record for 10 years, after which time it is destroyed (i.e., deleted).

You can find out more about how City handles data by visiting our Legal and Governance webpages. If you are concerned about how we have processed your personal data, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (IOC).

As a public body, City has appointed Dr Emma White as the Data Protection Officer (DPO). Should you have any concerns about your personal data at City please contact the DPO by email at dataprotection@city.ac.uk. Additional guidance can be sought from the Information Governance team by telephone +44 0)20 70 40 4000 or email dataprotection@city.ac.uk.

Your contribution is really valuable to helping our understanding of students’ viewpoints and experiences on safety and wellbeing while studying. This will help us to advocate for a safer and more supportive environment for university students in future.

Remember: Any questions you do not wish to answer you can simply leave blank. You are not obliged to take part in the interview and can withdraw at any point without needing to give a reason. Any questions you do not wish to answer you can skip.

Equally, if there are aspects of your experience / perspectives you wish to share that are not included in the interview questions, you will have an opportunity to discuss these.

All participants will be provided with sources of support should they want it.

We understand that these issues can sometimes be difficult to discuss, and so we have included a variety of support services ready to help if you would like to talk to someone about your experiences.

Please consider getting in touch with any of the following support services if you would like to speak to someone about any issues addressed through this research:

• Your university support services (e.g., student counselling)
• Your Student’s Union
• Police (101 for non-emergencies, 999 in emergencies)
• Victim support (0808 1689 111)
• Samaritans (116 123)
• The Mix (0808 808 4994)

This study is the process of being reviewed by City, University of London Research Ethics Committee. The interviews will only commence once approval has been granted.

If you have any problems, concerns or questions about this study, you should first consider asking to speak to a member of the research team directly:

• Project lead/Principal Investigator:  Dr Carrie-Anne Myers, City, University of London
• Postdoctoral researcher: Dr Holly Powell-Jones, City, University of London

If you remain unhappy and wish to complain formally, you can do this through City’s complaints procedure. To complain about the study, you need to phone 020 7040 3040.

You can then ask to speak to the Secretary to Senate Research Ethics Committee and inform them that the name of the project is the ‘Student Experiences of Violence at University – A Qualitative Study’.

Once the interviews have concluded the research team can begin the process of analysing the data. This process normally takes a month or two, depending on how many responses we have.

After analysis, the results of the interviews will be used to generate various publications. This may include journal articles, reports, press releases, recommendations & guidance, etc.

Remember: All responses and quotes from the interviews will be anonymous, so nothing that might risk identifying a particular individual will be included in these.

A summary of the results and any publications created will be available here on our research web pages.

This means that you can simply check back for updates without needing to contact with the research team or identifying yourself as a participant.

If you have any further questions about the research, please do get in touch:

The project is being led by Dr Carrie Anne Myers (City, UoL).
Email: Carrie.Myers.1@city.ac.uk

You can also contact Dr Holly Powell-Jones (City, UoL):
Email: Holly.Powell-Jones@city.ac.uk

Carrie is the Undergraduate Programme Director for the Department of Sociology and Criminology at City, University of London and a Senior Lecturer in Criminology. She has extensive research experience in a number of key areas including: Youth Crime, School Violence and Bullying, Cyberbullying Across the Educational Lifespan and Victimisation Processes.

Her research on Cyberbullying at University considers the intersections between Criminological and Psychological theory, gaps in policy and the legal boundaries that need to be acknowledged with this particular age group (those over 18). Her research has attracted both national and international acclaim and has fed into policy initiatives globally.

She recently was an expert witness for the Law Commission on their review of communications offences ;and a review of the law as it relates to taking, making and sharing intimate images without consent. She is currently working with Universities UK and other partners, to develop a network for those who are working in online harassment and her most recent publications are being used as part of the Prevent Cyberbullying in HE initiative in Australia.

Dr Holly Powell-Jones is an educator, researcher and consultant specialising in youth, crime and digital media. She is a former broadcast journalist with a PhD in teenagers’ perceptions of risk & responsibility online from City, University of London. She designed and delivered a large-scale police-commissioned project, educating tens of thousands of children in schools about social media law between 2013 and 2017.

She’s worked on several research projects related to social media, youth, crime, law, human rights, and online safety - collaborating with organisations such as the BBFC, the PSHE Association, 5 Rights Foundation, IMPRESS, and others. Holly is the Online Law Lead for the Global Equality Collective, founder of Online Media Law UK, and a Violent Crime Prevention Board award winner in 2020. She guest lectures across the fields of criminology, journalism and sociology, and has authored a book chapter on ‘Social Media and Bullying’.

Helen Cowie is Emerita Professor at the University of Surrey in the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. She is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society and a Chartered Counselling Psychologist. She was national representative on the COST Cyberbullying Project and contributed a cross-national chapter to the project book, Cyberbullying through the New Media.

She has researched and published widely in the field of anti-bullying interventions at school and university, co-authoring (with Carrie-Anne Myers) Bullying Among University Students, Routledge, 2016.

School Bullying and Mental Health: Risks, Intervention and Prevention, was published by Routledge in 2018 as the first in a new series entitled The Mental Health and Well-being of Children and Adolescents. In Managing School Violence, she and her co-author Dawn Jennifer designed training for a whole-school approach to reduce and prevent bullying.

New Perspectives on Bullying emphasised the importance of fostering positive relationships in the school community as a whole and provided a wealth of evidence-based good practice for professionals. The second edition of From Birth to Sixteen was published in 2019.

Emma Short is based at De Montfort University. She is a Chartered Health Psychologist and HCPC registered as a practitioner in Health Psychology. She has conducted research in the area of cyber harassment, stalking and technology facilitated abuse since 2005, working with partners in the third sector, higher education, police and government bodies.

She collaborates widely and across disciplines with stakeholders and continues to deliver training to service providers about online harms and the nature and impact of cyber harassment and stalking.

She has worked in higher education for over 20 years and is committed to promoting the wellbeing of all members in that community.

Fiona Waye is a Policy Manager at Universities UK and works on a range of projects to support universities to prevent and respond to all forms of harassment so that no student or member of staff is subject to any form of harassment, intimidation or threatening or violent behaviour in universities.

Such an abuse of power is categorically at odds with the values and standards of behaviour expected in the sector.

This year’s programme focuses on the development of strategic frameworks, knowledge exchange and the dissemination of ‘what works’; the impact of which will provide the foundations for a change programme in universities to drive continuous improvement in addressing harassment and hate crime.

Nathan Hudson is Research Director in the Crime and Justice team at NatCen, with expertise in the interdisciplinary study of poverty, disadvantage and inequality. Nathan’s research addresses several key areas within UK social policy. His main area of expertise is LGB&T+ equality, where he has undertaken research on a range of issues including recruitment discrimination, non-binary gender identities and transgender awareness in education and training.

As a mixed-methods researcher Nathan is experienced in both qualitative and quantitative methods. This includes expertise in undertaking qualitative research with vulnerable groups, as well as stakeholder research, particularly within voluntary and community sector.

Nathan also has expertise in providing syntheses of research, having undertaken scoping, rapid evidence and full systematic reviews for a wide range of clients, including the Home Office, the Government Equalities Office, the Department for Education, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission.