At National College of Ireland, over recent weeks, you may have noticed colourful posters, in many languages, popping up everywhere around the College, even in the bathrooms. These posters provide critical information on consent in relation to sexual activity, including information on Irish law in relation to the sharing of intimate images and legal definition of consent.
In collaboration with Active* Consent, the Ending Sexual Violence and Harassment (ESVH) Working Group in NCI have translated some of the Active*Consent posters into three additional languages. You should be able to find Hindi, Portuguese (Brazilian), and Ukrainian, along with Irish and English posters, and there are more languages to come! Make sure to look at all the languages in all the posters. Our initial languages were chosen because of the students currently in NCI, the community in which the College is based, and to ensure we are inclusive of world languages and not just western European languages.
These posters are available from NCI and Active*Consent if other educational providers would like to use them in their educational campaigns.
Why put information in the bathrooms?
Sometimes we need a moment alone in a safe place to absorb information, which can help us to think and consider our experiences and/or behaviour. In a busy workplace or college, a bathroom stall offers us the chance to have this safe, quiet moment. Sexual Violence and Harassment (SVH) is one of the most serious non-academic issues in third level education, and the statistics on its prevalence are shocking. A survey of Irish students found that 29% of females, 10% of males and 28% of non-binary students reported non-consensual penetration by incapacitation, force, or threat of force, while earlier research has indicated that three in ten women in Irish third level institutions have reported feeling sexually harassed or intimidated, with one in four having experienced unwanted physical contact. Help make NCI a zero-tolerance campus, stand up and speak out against Sexual Violence and Harassment. Be a good bystander and protect our community, and yourselves.
Taking action:
Should you wish to report an incident formally, please access the Student Policy on the Prevention of Bullying and Harassment or the staff policy Dignity at Work Policy, as appropriate. You can also get support from one if NCI’s Designated Contact People.
You can also make an anonymous report using Speak Out.
Speak Out is an anonymous online reporting tool that can be used to disclose incidents of bullying, cyberbullying, harassment, coercive behaviour, stalking, assault, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and rape. Speak Out will help you find the relevant supports and highlight formal reporting procedures, should you wish to use them. It is important to remember that as Speak Out is a completely anonymous tool, we have no way to identify or contact students or staff who make a report.
Consent Framework:
The Consent Framework was published in 2018 by the Department of Higher Education. It highlights the need for colleges to take on the responsibility of creating safe college communities for all staff, students, and visitors. National College of Ireland published the NCI Framework for Ending Sexual Violence and Harassment in March 2022. NCI and NCISU are working together in implementing the framework.
The Active* Consent programme has grown out of the University of Galway tradition of research and community engagement. In tackling societal issues like consent, sexual violence and harassment, they have conducted research into young people’s sexual experiences and attitudes towards consent since 2013. In tackling societal issues like consent, sexual violence, and harassment, they have conducted research into young people’s sexual experiences and attitudes towards consent since 2013.
With this data, Active* Consent creates original consent education and training resources including workshops, eLearning modules, educational videos, original dramas, and social media campaigns for colleges, schools, and sports organisations. The Active* Consent programme believes that the most effective form of consent education supports young people’s sexual health and agency and is taught through a sex-positive lens which honours peoples’ choices whether or not they choose to become sexually active.
At National College of Ireland, we are proud to be in collaboration with Active*Consent, and we hope that everyone in the College, staff and students, will be proud to join the efforts to ensure that NCI is a zero-tolerance campus where everyone call feel safe and supported as they come to college and come to work.
#ChangingLivesThroughEducation