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Dear campus community, On behalf of the MyVoice Working Group and its Action Planning team, I write to provide the latest updates on the MyVoice survey initiative and to invite your participation in the next stage of this important project. Earlier this year, nearly 15,000 UC Berkeley students, staff, and faculty took the MyVoice survey, sharing their experiences, beliefs, and knowledge regarding sexual violence and sexual harassment (SVSH). Many people dedicated countless hours to make the survey possible, to analyze its results, and to develop the beginnings of an action plan that responds to survey findings. The MyVoice Work Group and Action Planning Team are excited to share key findings and the beginnings of a campus-wide effort to respond to what we have learned from the survey. This is a work in progress. We will be soliciting community input - your input! - and feedback throughout the fall semester. Here are the key findings and proposed associated action steps (for more information and an opportunity to comment, see MyVoice.berkeley.edu, as well as today’s Berkeley News story): Uplifting Social Norms Report finding: Most people report holding healthy attitudes themselves, e.g. not attributing sexual violence to alcohol, but are not confident that others do. Proposed action: Create a campaign, tailored to specific campus communities, around healthy social norms (behaviors or attitudes that one believes are common in one’s community or social circle). Integrate these social norms into orientation sessions and other programs; organize high-profile event to feature social norms, support for survivors, prevention tools; work to directly engage men in promoting positive social norms. Empowering Friends Report finding: Survivors tend to tell friends about harmful experiences, but rarely formally report harm; the top reasons are the concern that the harm was not serious enough, not wanting action taken, and worry about being blamed. Proposed action: Develop and distribute trauma-informed materials and workshops for friends, colleagues, and family that develop skills for supporting a survivor without victim blaming. Centering Marginalized Communities Report finding: People belonging to a marginalized group, especially queer and transgender people of color and those living with a disability, experience disproportionately high impacts of sexual violence and sexual harassment. Proposed action: Ensure that providers work collaboratively with existing campus communities to deliver direct services, campus messaging, and education that resonates with women of color, queer and transgender people of color, LGBTQ+, and people living with disabilities. Creating Toolkits for Departments Report finding: While sexual harassment behaviors within the campus community are most common within peer groups – undergraduates harass undergraduates, graduate students harass graduate students, etc. - results show that the second most common pattern is for harassment to occur within a power differential (supervisors harassing those they supervise, etc.). Proposed action: Create toolkits for staff, faculty, and graduate students working on prevention efforts that address professional boundaries, power dynamics, workplace norms, gender inclusivity, and responsible employee obligations. Encouraging Undergraduate Culture Change Report finding: Higher percentages of undergraduates report experiences of harm than do graduate students, staff, and faculty, in every category - sexual harassment, sexual assault, relationship violence, and stalking. Proposed action: Develop ongoing educational outreach to undergraduates that allows for deeper engagement and understanding of concepts like bystander intervention and how to seek for consent through small group dialogues and role playing. Raising Awareness About Resources While the majority of graduate students, staff, and faculty report connecting with a Berkeley resource if they had an SVSH experience, we want to ensure that everyone on campus can find the resources they are looking for. Proposed action: Create and widely distribute brochures around campus that highlight relevant SVSH resources at UC Berkeley, in particular clarifying that the Care Line (510- 643-2005) is the 24/7 confidential place to access resources. For more information about the survey findings, you can find the full report by the independent research institution, NORC, that managed the survey; an executive summary; and lessons learned about the survey itself at the MyVoice Survey website. Many thanks to the following students, staff, faculty and administrators who have worked hard on the MyVoice effort: MyVoice Work Group (2017-2018)
MyVoice Action Planning Team (2018)
...and a big thank you to everyone who contributes to making our campus a healthy place to work and study. Sharon Inkelas If you are a manager who supervises UC Berkeley employees without email access, please circulate this information to all. |