Ending gender-based violence
College will be awarded full ‘White Ribbon’ status amid prevention efforts
LOCKDOWN restrictions have had an exacerbating effect on the rate of gender-based violence (GBV) crimes, according to data from the World Health Organisation.
GBV is an issue that Glasgow Clyde College has always taken exceptionally seriously, and – now more than ever – we understand that we must work together towards eradicating it from our communities.
The 16 Days of Action Against Domestic Violence campaign is currently under way worldwide, and the college has supported this campaign for several years. The campaign, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary, underlines that gender-based violence against women is a violation of human rights.
The “16 days” run between November 25, the International Day Against Violence Against Women, and December 10, International Human Rights Day. During this time period, the college is launching and announcing a number of different initiatives with the core aim of tackling gender-based violence.
The college has been working with the White Ribbon Campaign since 2019 in its work to end GBV and will be awarded full “White Ribbon” status on December 10.
The college is also extremely proud to have been chosen as one of the two colleges involved with the EmilyTest Charter pilot. The charter, launching on December 6, will enable us to recognise and overcome challenges, update procedures, train more staff and, crucially, offer extra support to our community.
We are getting ready to launch a bespoke Report & Support website tool where students and staff can securely and anonymously report not only incidents of gender-based violence, but also report racial harassment and other forms of inappropriate behaviour. This will be implemented across our institutions for the start of academic year 2021/22.
Glasgow Clyde College is also a member of Fearless Glasgow, a partnership group of colleges and universities in the West of Scotland, united in tackling gender-based violence together.
The group, supported by Police Scotland and the Scottish Government, aims to affect change by raising awareness, challenging harmful behaviours and attitudes and offering enhanced support to students and staff across Glasgow and the West.
Working with Rape Crisis Scotland, Glasgow Clyde College has also been given an online GBV course for students to support the prevention of, and awareness of GBV among our students. The course has been made available through our virtual learning environment, and will be integrated into student inductions in the upcoming session.
As a college, we are doing as much as we can to eradicate this ongoing issue, making our campus as safe a space as we possibly can and encouraging students to engage with educational resources and support networks. The wellbeing of our students and staff is of the utmost importance, and we will continue to make strides in the hugely important issue area of gender-based violence.