Sexual harassment prevention and support structures, at disposal and well communicated to all stakeholders

Main aim of the action

To analyze and update the existing protocols and create protocols which do not currently exist such as protocols related to harassment against students.

Expected impact/outcome

To approve a protocol that includes sexist violence, transphobia and homophobia by means of a participative process that involves all staff and students. The final outcome will be that everyone in the faculties know what to do in case of suffering sexual harassment.

Implementation

A session was held at MU level in December 2017 to make the collective aware of the importance of having an adequate protocol and that the approval process should be participatory.

Once the participatory approach was accepted, a consultancy specialized in designing protocols was hired and the process was initiated during October 2018.

The first step was to carry out a questionnaire among the members of the Faculty of Humanities and Education  to know the real situation in the faculty. However, fewer responses than expected were obtained which affected the development of the process.

The second step is to create working groups to go into the answers obtained from the questionnaire in more depth with the aim of designing a protocol adapted to the real situation of the faculty. Unfortunately, very few people volunteered for the working groups and we were forced to designate people to work in the groups.

The third step will be to design the protocol taking into account the diagnosis and the protocols that are currently in force in other universities.

The protocol will then be revised by various committees and passed to the Governing Board for approval.

Challenges/resistance

The greatest resistance is the lack of participation of the university members (staff and students), both when filling in the questionnaire and when participating in the working groups.

Coping strategies

We must continue to insist on the importance of the entire community  being involved in order to obtain a protocol that is known by everyone. Participation in the design and approval of the protocol will lead to an appropriate use of the support structures in case of sexual harassment.

Once the protocol is approved, we must continue to ensure that everyone is informed, for example, in the welcoming scheme for new workers.

Key area

The governance bodies, key actors and decision-makers

Type of action

Training

Organization

Mondragon Unibertsitatea (MU)
Higher education institution

Action level of implementation

Staff and students