Creating Cultural Change: Sex, Safety and Respect Workshops as One Response to Sexual Assault and Harassment on Campus

In recent years there has been an increase in awareness and calls to action to reduce sexual assault and harassment on university campuses in Australia. This has stemmed from The Australian Human Rights Commission’s 2017 report Change the Course: National Report on Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment at Australian Universities. One response from the University of Newcastle was to adopt an evidence based accredited workshop program called Sex, Safety and Respect. The program was developed by the specialist violence prevention service the Full Stop Foundation. The University commissioned the Foundation to train around 20 professional and academic staff to deliver tailored workshops to students. The workshops seek to address cultural narratives and behaviours that can contribute to sexual violence and offer students an interactive and reflective experience that builds on content delivered in the University’s compulsory online consent module. The rollout of the workshops is currently in the early implementation phase and has been supported through engagement with key stakeholders across the University with the aim of creating allies and making this a University-wide approach to effect positive cultural change. In this paper we provide an overview of the implementation process, challenges and successes encountered. Preliminary feedback from staff and students about their experience of the workshops and our plans for expanding the program’s reach are also reviewed.