Cambridge prides itself on being a leader - academically in terms of research,
education. It has to be a social leader as well tackling tough problems that are
difficult for all institutions like sexual harassment. And I think that the
leadership of the university has to send the right signals and has to be
committed to directly addressing these challenges.
The community that we want at Cambridge
is one that's inclusive and which is built on a foundation of mutual respect.
So to achieve that we need everybody in the community to be behind
this exercise in" breaking the silence" and not tolerating any form of sexual harassment.
Colleges as residential communities need to take the lead here
it seems to me, both in providing an atmosphere and a culture and a set of
rules and regulations which leave every member of the community clear about what
their responsibilities are but also to ensure that sexual harassment and
misconduct are no longer taboo.
That we can address these issues clearly,
seriously to inspire confidence in those victims of sexual harassment
and misconduct that they will be listened to when they come forward.
I think if any student or a member of staff has been affected by sexual
misconduct of any kind, it's vital that they have confidence to come forward to
realise that what they say will be taken seriously. And there are people in the
university who are trained to provide support to them, to provide advice to
them as to what they may wish to do next.
If people are thinking about coming
forward to talk about their experiences- at the counselling service we listen to
people and we believe them and we are happy to talk through people's
experiences in a safe space and then talk about the options that are
available as well and our service is completely confidential. So we encourage
people to come forward and speak to us if they can.
We know that sexual harassment is one of the most underreported of all offences.
That's true at Cambridge as it's true in most universities around the world.
So if this campaign works there will be more reporting, we can't be uncomfortable with that.
That is a necessary consequence of bringing these cases to light.
If ever there is an increase in reporting that's always a very positive sign. It is not a
sign that there is an increase in sexual harassment or assault, it is indicative
of an increase in victims and survivors confidence in the systems and processes
around them to protect them and provide them with support.
Sexual misconduct is a difficult topic,
only because it's so embedded in our society but difficult
subjects are not unsolvable problems and so I think a lot of people think
that there's nothing that they can do because sexual misconduct happens on
such a grand scale but one of the best ways to challenge anything is to start
small and to start in the spaces that you are to tackle it.
Nothing we may find institutionally
difficult to do is ever going to be harder than the experience
of someone living with the consequences and trauma of sexual harassment.
We know that it's not the experience itself that's important whether it's a
joke or a comment or something shared online it's the impact it has on other
people that's important and we don't always know how other people have
responded to something or how it's affected them so it's important for us
to be mindful the our intention doesn't always make a difference to how other
people will experience what we say or what we do and I think it's important
for us to think about that.
No matter how brilliant you are and Cambridge colleges
are full of brilliant people - nobody has the right to act in such a way that the
person who's on the receiving end of that act or comment or behaviour
feels unsafe.
It's important to tackle sexual harassment because it's the
right thing to do.
Beyond that, if we don't tackle sexual harassment we're going to lose out.
People won't be doing their best here, some people may leave. So those
aspirations to be excellent will be undermined.
One particular aspect of that
that concerns me is the "leaky pipeline." There are the lots of reasons why women drop out
along the way in their career, if anything of that is to do with sexual
harassment then we have to tackle it.
If we don't address sexual harassment
seriously - I think that we have a chance of losing some of the very, most talented
members of our community who will feel that they're not really part of the
community because they don't feel safe. And so if we want to ensure that
Cambridge is a home for the very best amongst us, then dealing with this issue
directly and honestly is important.
University should be one of the spaces
where you feel like you can open yourself up to new experiences and I
think the one thing that a kind of culture that condones sexual misconduct
does - is shuts people down and makes them isolated and vulnerable. And if we claim
to care about people, if we came to claim to care about our community, I think one
of the ways that we show that we care about community is by tackling
misconduct and by making sure that everyone feels safe and supported and
feels like they can get the justice that they need- through whatever means
that might be.