Bournemouth University
Bournemouth University has two campuses in Bournemouth and Poole in Dorset.
We ranked all 29 universities in the south of England against the following best practice criteria to assess how well each institution raises awareness of help available to survivors and encourages them to report. Other marks are given for campaigns and extra measures which show the university’s engagement with preventing and responding to sexual assault. Each received a mark out of 5.
- Anonymous form: The university currently does not have means for students to report sexual assault anonymously. However, a spokesperson for the university said: “BU have been working on ‘support and report’ web pages which have recently gone live. We are hoping to introduce an anonymous form in due course.”
- Campaigns: The students’ union held a ‘Sexual Violence Awareness Week’ in February which highlighted consent and sexual assault.
- Sexual assault advice page: The university website has a page dedicated to sexual assault and harassment, which gives details of student disciplinary procedures and support on campus.
- External contacts: On the same web page, the university lists contact details for charities and the local sexual assault referral clinic, The Shores.
- Other measures: A spokesperson for the university said: “Dorset Rape Crisis hold regular drop in sessions on campus. We also have a named contact in each faculty for reporting sexual assault (these posts will also offer appropriate advice and support).”
Mark: 4/5