Beacon Diversity Lecture

“Making visible the ‘invisible’: institutional conceptualisations of and responses to sexual violence”

This talk will explore university staff perceptions of sexual harassment and violence, including perceptions about the prevalence and contexts in which it occurs.

The talk draws on data from two national projects and one international research study about sexual harassment and violence in universities, which involved surveys and interviews with more than 250 staff across 10 universities and with varying levels of responsibility for student welfare.  Our data suggest that perceptions about the prevalence of sexual harassment and violence are strongly influenced by how it is conceptualised and to whom it is visible.

In this talk, I will explore factors shaping this in/visibility, and thinking about the ways in which violence prevention initiatives might address this.