Congress motions

Motion

Motion title

Eradicating sexual violence in post-16 education

Session

2021-2022

Meeting link

Annual Congress

Meeting date

3 June 2022

Status

Passed

Motion

33

Motion text

The UCU sexual violence task group reports that in the past five years 1 in 10 university and college staff have directly experienced workplace sexual violence.
Congress notes in post-16 education:
1. 52% of those who experienced sexual violence did not report it to their employer
2. 70% experienced sexual violence as an ongoing pattern of behaviour
3. Insecurely employed workers were 1.3 times as likely to experience sexual violence than permanently employed
4. Workers on insecure contracts, disabled workers, LGBTQ workers, and black workers are all at greater risk of sexual violence.
Congress demands UCU:
a. Continues to pressure government and employers to work with trade unions and sexual violence prevention workers to address gender-based violence, including by enforcing policies, allocating resources to prevention and counselling, and replacing nondisclosure agreements with transparent procedures;
b. Continues to pressure government and employers to provide decent, secure jobs, given casualisation and structural inequalities exacerbate sexual violence.
c. Continues to pressure the government to bring about meaningful change which can only be made if the government shows their commitment for challenging and eradicating inequality by implementing into UK law the UNCRPD (UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) with and also to ratify the Istanbul Convention.
d. Pressures the Government to reinstate Section 40 of the Equality Act 2010 – repealed in 2013 – which placed a duty on employers to protect employees from third party harassment.

Proposing body

UCU Scotland executive

Amended

Yes

Allocated to

Equality committee

Notes