EPISODE 1
Building authentic partnerships for responding to gender-based violence in Scottish universities.
Guests: Kathryn Dawson, Lauren McDougall, and Fatemeh Nokhbatolfoghahai
Join Kathryn Dawson (Rape Crisis, Scotland), Lauren McDougall (University of Glasgow, UK) , and Fatemeh Nokhbatolfoghahai (formerly University of Glasgow, currently a junior medical doctor in the UK). as we discuss this cross-institutional, multi-partner coalition initiated by student organisations in collaboration with security, service and academic staff in two Scottish universities. Along with local service providers and police, our guests critically discuss the tensions encountered and challenges posed in creating a ‘whole-university’ approach to preventing and responding to gender-based violence. In so doing, they highlight the centrality of student leadership for developing an informed response and driving forward meaningful change, and the importance of internal/external partnerships for prevention work, root and branch reform of university policies and practices.
EPISODE 2
Feminist Activism Among Academic Staff In The Movement To Address Gender Based Violence On Campus.
Guests: Catherine Donovan
In this episode, Catherine Donovan (University of Durham, UK) discusses a multi-institutional study conducted in the UK with colleagues Khatidja Chantler, Rachel Fenton, and Kelly Bracewell, exploring barriers and facilitators to implementing the recommendations of the UUK (2016) report on violence against women, harassment and hate crime, particularly focusing on sexual violence and harassment. Interviews were conducted with twenty-five volunteers and here we focus on the six interviews conducted with academics. Participant accounts reveal how, in becoming cognisant of the power structures within their universities, they were able to identify the way that power operated to stall or block promoting the GBV agenda; and to point to the transformative measures they had taken to circumvent barriers.
EPISODE 3
Transforming Culture to end Gender-Based Violence in Indian Universities.
Guests: Adrija Day and Gita Chadha
Some of the most progressive work around GBV on campus is taking place outside the global North. In this episode Gita Chadar (University of Mumbai, India) and Adrija Dey (School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, UK) provide compelling insights into work against GBV at Indian universities, by students, scholars and staff. They outline the national developments which led to growing attention to the harm of GBV amongst those who work in and study at universities in India, highlighting the progressive work which could provide a blueprint for policy and practice elsewhere. But they argue that structural progress alone is inadequate; what is also needed is cultivation of feminist consciousness about the factors that lead to gender based violence and how we can dismantle those.
EPISODE 4
Transforming Campus Rape Culture in Canada: Lessons from Complexity Theory.
Guests: Diane Crocker and Marcus A. Sibley
In this episode, Diane Crocker (St Mary's University, Canada) and Marcus A. Sibley (Carleton University, Canada) join Ruth and Susan to explore how rape culture, as a concept, is used to mobilize efforts to reduce campus sexual violence in Canada, and how activists’ understanding of rape culture has limited our ability to change it. They help us understand that while rape culture is not simple, our responses often assume it is. This insight is informed by complexity theory. We begin with the assumption that rape culture is a complex context that does not respond well to solutions that assume static, cause-effect relationships. Our guests conducted research that used narrative methods specifically developed to capture students’ ideas and experiences about rape culture, inviting them to code their own stories, and illuminate how rape culture manifests in their day to day lives. Their stories point to important shifts in current efforts to transform campus rape culture in Canada and beyond.