In this post, Dr Emma L Davies, Lecturer in Psychology at Oxford Brookes University, shares details of an exciting new project to inform prevention activities addressing sexual violence in University settings. The project takes place in collabration with Dr Sarah Jayne Camp, Psychology Demonstrator at Oxford Brookes University, and Anna-Sherlock Smith MSc, Independent Researcher. Emma explains why this work is so important and is also able to present initial findings from this new research.

How the project started

In 2013, I attended a talk by Laura Bates, founder of Everyday Sexism, where she discussed the problem of sexual assault on university campuses. Colleagues and I felt that we wanted to do something to explore these issues further. However, at the time, I was writing up my PhD thesis and searching for employment and so it was put on the back burner for a while. Last September, a chance encounter with the Head of Campus Security led to a conversation about what approach we should take to tackle issues around sexual harassment and safety on nights out. Continue reading →