UNE has adopted the Safe Communities Strategic Framework as a guide to furthering the University’s work in ensuring a safe campus for students and staff. Pulse put a few questions to Safe Communities Program Leader, Anne Hodson, pictured.

 

What is the Safer Communities initiative?

The objective

Develop, implement and act on the Safe Communities Strategic Framework to ensure a university-wide, safe and respectful environment for all members of our community.

How do we do this?

We need a community that is able to identify, understand, speak out and take action against unacceptable behaviours as well as model and celebrate positive behaviours.

Our community must be supported with quality resources that empowers a culture of taking an active role to prevent and appropriately respond to issues of sexual and psychosocial harm.

Such a framework recognises that having comprehensive policies and processes, while important, is not enough: policies and processes must also be underpinned by an evolving institutional culture that builds inclusive, safe and respectful environments, on campus and online.

How does Safe Communities differ from the Respect Now Always program?

In February 2016, Universities Australia began the Respect.Now.Always. initiative. This world-first, sector-wide program focussed on the prevention of sexual violence in university communities to improve how universities responded to and supported those who have been affected. It built on work done by individual universities in Australia over many years to develop policies, reporting procedures and support services.

Two national surveys of university students on their experiences of violence, with the first survey running in 2016 and the second survey running in 2021 were completed. Recommendations were made in both reports which UNE has been working to implement, with the recommendations made in the independent review of our colleges conducted by the Australian Human Rights Commission.

Safe Communities is a continuance of this work. However, the new program seeks better prevention of sexual harm, and the ability to more powerfully calling offenders to account.

Safe Communities builds upon and expands previous strategic frameworks to encompass all identified psychosocial hazards inclusive of sexual harm. It involves every UNE community member, staff and students. It is a University-wide approach to prevention and management of harmful behaviours, targeting the drivers of psychosocial hazards and sexual harm. That includes bullying, workplace violence, abuse, technology-facilitated abuse and child safety, among other things.

The Safe Communities Program Manager actively engages with the University stakeholders to provide leadership, coordination, practical advice and operational expertise in the management of the Universities Safe Communities Framework, which is UNE’s commitment to the principle of a safe community.

The position reports to the WH&S Manager, and provides operational support and coordination to internal University partners, the WH&S consultative and governance structures relevant to the scope of the position. This position is ongoing within the WHS Team.

Do you foresee any signficant developments in Safer Communities over the coming months that staff should be aware of?

UNE Culture

One of the major actions being undertaken by the University is a four phase approach to ensuring a safe work place. The phases are as follows:

• Review current data and analytics. This work has started.
  • Review existing data from check-in surveys, exit interviews, feedback from stakeholders and other demographic data to hone in on core issues.
  • Implementation of an independent culture review to determine key issues
• Procure an independent research-based approach to gather data and intelligence on our culture to ensure evidence-based decision making in identification of the key issues and determining the aspirational components.
• Develop comprehensive integrated solutions
  • Design and develop bespoke solutions to shift the UNE culture towards a sustainable and aspirational safe culture.
• Implementation of solutions and monitor/review impact
  • Implement change solutions and governance framework to ensure progress and success

Safe Communities program;

As stated above, Safe Communities will develop, implement and act on the Safe Communities Strategic Framework to ensure a university wide, all-inclusive safe and respectful environment for all members of our community. The program will operate on the following principles:

• Clear behavioural expectations are established;
• We clearly, constantly inform and empower;
• Respect is the expectation and the norm;
• People can speak up and are empowered to take action without fear;
• We are skilled and resourced to manage poor behaviour;
• We intervene early;
• Consequence management is effective;

What gives you the most satisfaction in your role with Safer Communities?