The University was one of the first Universities in the country to introduce the Report and Support platform to make it easy for anyone to report misconduct, harassment, bullying or discrimination so they can receive support, or anonymously let the University know they have seen or experienced something.

In 2020 the University appointed its first Sexual Violence and Domestic Abuse Caseworker and subsequently trained another five members of University staff to take on this role alongside their main roles.

SVDA Caseworkers act as a point of liaison for students who have experienced sexual violence and/or domestic abuse, informing students of their options and connecting them with relevant specialist agencies to report and/or receive support (e.g. police, external support agencies, internal complaints procedure).

In 2021 the University employed a part time Sexual Violence and Harassment Specialist Caseworker, a role that focuses exclusively on supporting students to access everything they need following an incident of gender based or sexual violence or harassment. In 2024 the role became a full time Gender-Based Violence Caseworker post.

Appointments with SVDA Caseworkers can be booked via My Wellbeing.

If you need help right now, click here.

The disciplinary process was improved by:

• Employing a Complaints Manager and two trained Student Casework Investigators
• Providing specialist training to senior staff to hold disciplinary panels in cases of sexual misconduct
• Clarifying the complaints procedure for students
• Ensuring that the reporting student and reported student do not need to appear in the room (physical or virtual) at the same time
• Providing clarity about potential outcomes of disciplinary panels
• Publishing outcomes from disciplinary panels (anonymised)
• Revising the Harassment and Sexual Misconduct policy and procedure to ensure it includes all forms of harassment, sexual violence and domestic abuse; rewritten to be accessible to all students and staff

You can find the Disciplinary Procedure here.

The University has strong links with a number of specialist agencies which support victim-survivors of gender-based violence. You can find details of support agencies in our external support section.

How we work with local agencies, universities and student unions

Bath Spa University is a member of the Joint University and Partnership Working Group on Sexual Violence and Harassment. The Working Group consists of relevant members of staff from Bath Spa University, the University of Bath, UWE Bristol and University of Bristol, joined by their respective Student Unions and local specialist agencies, such as The Bridge and members of Avon and Somerset Police. 

The Joint forum hold meetings throughout the year to share best practice and ideas in providing support, reporting mechanisms and preventative measures relating to sexual violence and sexual harassment, both within the university communities and more generally in the Bristol, Bath and Somerset regions. 

The Joint forum work on a set of principles articulated in the joint statement, which can be found here. 

Bath Spa University has recently been awarded the Tender RE:SET Universities Award for 3 years.  

RE:SET Universities Award recognises excellence in the prevention of domestic abuse and sexual violence, including embedding effective sustainable prevention within our campus culture; and empowering, supporting and educating our staff and students.  

The RE:SET Project Delivery team (comprising staff in Student Wellbeing Services, Students Union, Communications team, Events, HR and BSU students) collaborated over 18 months to complete a framework of tasks focused on reviewing and improving current training, policy and support relating to domestic abuse and sexual violence.  

The framework included auditing, training, policy and service updates, and student engagement, whilst equipping senior leaders and frontline staff with the knowledge and skills to lead the sector in preventing gendered violence and developing a positive campus culture. 

Some of the tasks undertaken as part of the RE:SET project: 

• Review of Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence policies; shared in easily accessible locations for staff and students 
• Relevant members of staff and SU received 6 hours of domestic abuse and sexual violence training 
• Developed and delivered student feedback mechanisms to evaluate current effectiveness of domestic and sexual violence prevention methods, reporting and support services 
• Developed and delivered projects and campaigns about domestic abuse and sexual violence. 

#NeverOK

#NeverOK is a city-wide campaign between Bath Spa University and its Students’ Union, University of Bath and its Students’ Union, Komedia and the Student Community Partnership. 

The campaign aims to tackle sexual misconduct, domestic abuse, all forms of harassment, bullying and discrimination. 

Gender-based and sexual violence are global, national and local issues, which can affect anyone, including students. 

#NeverOK is a campaign that encompasses support for victim-survivors, awareness raising, and training with the primary aim of changing the culture around gender-based and sexual violence. 

NeverOK educates students and staff about unacceptable behaviours, empowers students to speak out when they see inappropriate behaviour and encourages students to speak to support services if they witness or experience harassment or assault. 

It includes a poster campaign placed in prominent positions across Bath Spa University campuses which dispel common misconceptions about Gender-Based Violence and connects student survivors to support services.  

Find out more about #NeverOK resources.

Events 

Awareness raising also takes place at a number of planned events during the academic year. This includes a combination of events designed to actively encourage engagement in specific Gender-Based Violence and Harassment themes, often in tune with national events and awareness days/weeks, as well as having a presence and visibility at events for mental health and wellbeing more generally.  

Gender-Based Violence and Harassment-specific events generally consist of having a stand, banners and take-away information, members of the Sexual Violence Liaison Officer team present to engage students in conversations about Gender-Based Violence and Harassment and the support available, alongside activities. Activities could include students creating a post-it note vision board of different behaviours constituting healthy and unhealthy relationships. Local specialist agencies such as The Bridge, Bristol and Somerset's Sexual Assault Referral Centre, often join us at these events.

Gender-Based Violence and Harassment awareness raising at events take place each year during national campaigns, such as the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence and Sexual Violence Awareness Week. We also run events in conjunction with Bath Spa Student Union’s Sexual Health and Guidance Week.  

Online communications 

Awareness raising also takes place via social media and online newsletter posts in tune with national awareness dates such as Domestic Abuse Awareness Month and Sexual Violence Awareness Week. 

Consent Collective

From academic year 2025-26, All new BSU students are signed up to the Consent Collective pathway when they register, which requires them to complete online modules.

The modules explore the nuances of consent, both sexually and more generally, and advise how to practice active consent and mutual respect in all walks of life.

The modules include exploration of how gendered inequalities and unequal power relations are reflected in and reinforced by harassment, sexual violence and abusive behaviours. They also include modules on bystander intervention, links to support services and how to respond to disclosures from others.  

Bath Spa University’s Gender-Based Violence Network, comprised of academic and professional services staff working in the field of Gender-Based Violence, is collaborating to expand upon the above consent modules.  

Staff and student training sessions 

The Tender RE:SET Award included training for Student Officers to develop and deliver projects and campaigns about domestic abuse and sexual violence.  

Three members of staff (two from Bath Spa University Student Wellbeing Service and one from the Bath Spa Student Union) completed the OCN Level 3 Developing & Delivering Domestic Abuse Training, which will enable the delivery of in-house training sessions to staff and students.  

The Gender-Based Violence Caseworker in Student Wellbeing Services delivers regular training sessions to student-facing services and academic departments; currently this training focuses on definitions of Gender-Based Violence and how to respond to student experiences of Gender-Based Violence.  

From academic year 2025-26, staff will also access online training content via Consent Collective (see above).

Future plans for staff training will embed training within the mandatory staff induction training programme.