UniSAFE Toolkit
Nearly 62% of the over 42,000 respondents who took part in the survey on gender-based violence in academia and higher education carried out in 2022 by UniSAFE disclosed having experienced at least one form of gender-based violence. While research organisations and higher education institutions increasingly acknowledge their institutional responsibility in addressing gender-based violence, setting up effective policies and procedures remains challenging. Where to start? How can institutions promote cultural change? What key elements should a policy include? How should an institution respond to disclosure? How to better protect students and staff? What are some inspiring practices from other institutions in Europe?
The UniSAFE toolkit supports higher education institutions and research organisations in addressing gender-based violence: whether they are just starting to reflect on how to address this issue, designing a policy or are more advanced and seeking to improve an institutional policy or its implementation.
Here’s what some of the toolkit users have to say:
“UniSAFE’s toolkit is an amazing platform to share good practices, providing an opportunity to exchange the know-how. I’d like to highlight its accessibility, complexity, comprehensiveness, and practice-oriented nature. It’s going to be an extremely useful tool, not just for ombudspeople.
The application of the assessment tool within our university proved to be very useful and important because it helps us identify the areas that need our special attention in the present and the future. What was truly revealing for us during the assessment procedure was the necessity to distinguish between the ad hoc measures that already exist in our institutions and the systemic measures targeting gender-based violence that are still missing to a great extent. This was quite revealing. I’d recommend applying this approach in your institutions because it makes great sense. The assessment tool enables institutions to develop tailored-made measures, and I think it is crucial as the realities are very diversified.”
– Michaela Antonín Malaníková. Faculty of Philosophy, University Palackého Olomouc, CZ.
“The use of the 7P model has allowed [our university] to make a broader assessment across at least three impact channels: the consolidation of existing policies, strong implementation based on comprehension with international best practices of regulations adopted in universities, and support for the introduction of new measures/services for addressing gender-based violence.”
– Ester Cois, Delegate of the Rector for Eqaulity, University of Cagliari (UniCA), IT.