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Staff Training - Responding To Student Disclosures

Responding to a disclosure, Hand on ear, listening.A Staff Guide to Student Disclosures.

The University of Cumbria is committed to providing a safe environment for our students, and to responding appropriately to any incidents.  

Prevention of Bullying Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Policy

The Prevention of Bullying Harassment and Sexual Misconduct policy has been produced to support staff to whom students may report an incident of sexual misconduct, victimisation, bullying, harassment or hate crime.  The information below provides guidance on how to provide a safe space for the student and the opportunity for them to make an informed choice about what action to choose to take.

Student Services are here to support you to respond well, should a student disclose an incident to you. We don’t expect you to provide expert advice or long-term support to a student: we can arrange this for the student. What we need from you is to provide a safe, non-judgmental space for the student to talk, signpost them to support, and provide key details of the incident to us.

  • Responding to a disclosure of sexual violence – guidance for staff

    Please note these tips are interim pending the further development of the Prevention of Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Policy and Procedures

    General Guidance

    • When someone has survived sexual violence, receiving caring and supportive responses from the people around them is crucial to the healing process and can help prevent or lessen trauma.
    • If someone discloses to you, it means they look to you as someone who can provide support.
    • You don’t need to be a professional to be there for someone who has survived sexual violence.
    • Support can take many forms. Each victim/survivor will have different experiences and needs, so it is important to ask them how they want to be supported.
    • They may not know what they need right away, and that is okay.
    • You may not know how much support you are able to provide going forward, and that is okay too.
    • During an initial disclosure, you don’t need to commit to long-term involvement; focus on being present and the person’s immediate needs.

    Top tips on how to respond to a disclosure

    Believe and affirm. 

    • Let them know that you believe them, and that the sexual violence was not their fault

    Build safety and trust. 

    • Address any immediate needs – are they safe and do they need medical attention? 
    • Address confidentiality – remember there may be circumstances, for example if there is a Statutory Safeguarding concern, where confidentiality cannot be promised.​​​​​​Therefore, don’t make promises that cannot be kept - e.g. do not promise confidentiality, do not say that you will make it all right – only make promises you know you can keep. 
    • Offer re-assurance that they have done the right thing by disclosing
    • Remember professional role boundaries to avoid taking on more than you can handle

    ​​​​​​​Listen and be compassionate

    • Let them tell their story in their own words, at their own pace
    • Be comfortable with silence
    • Ask them how they want to be supported

    Respect and restore choices

    Be aware

    Be aware of the impacts of trauma for example:

    • If someone seems calm and composed, this does not mean that they have not been violated. It could mean that they feel numb or that they are dissociating from the trauma.
    • The brain reacts to trauma with a fight, flight, or freeze response. These are involuntary responses to help the person survive.
    • The freeze response can be why a victim/survivor did not physically struggle during the violence.
    • Trauma’s impact on the brain contributes to why a victim/survivor may have difficulty remembering or recounting details of the sexual violence.
    • Further information about common responses of survivors can be found here
    • Acknowledge your own boundaries and seek support through the internal safeguarding contacts

  • Your duty to report to Student Services

    ns_step, Student Services must be informed of incidents in certain circumstances in order to arrange measures to ensure the safety of the reporting student, or other students or staff; in order to offer further specialist support and to ensure that we maintain an accurate picture of the prevalence of sexual misconduct against our students. You must inform Student Services in the following circumstances:

    • Immediately, following calling the police where there has been a serious incident
    • Immediately, where a student has been sexually assaulted in the past seven days
    • Immediately, where a student reports an incident committed by another UoC student or a member of staff
    • Immediately, where the student reports an incident committed by someone external to the University or historical incidents. In these circumstances the Lead Operational Safeguarding Officer will consider whether a referral to an external agency is required - eg Local Authority Designated Officers, Adult and Children’s Services.

    You Report We Support Click Here Logo, You Report We Support Click Here LogoYou do not need the student's consent to share information in these circumstances. You can report a disclosure using the You Report We Support form (for Sexual Misconduct, Bullying and Harassment) or using the Student Enquiry Point (StEP) form for Safeguarding concerns.

     

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