Promoting Consent and Preventing Sexual Violence at Dundalk Institute of Technology
DkIT is committed to fostering a safe, respectful, and supportive institutional campus culture.
We are actively working to implement the Framework for Consent in HEIs: Safe, Respectful, Supportive and Positive: Ending Sexual Harassment in Irish Higher Education Institutions and learning from the recommendations in THEA’s Promoting Consent and Preventing Sexual Violence Report.
As we encourage our student population to engage in the conversation around consent it is important that our staff are aware of the issues around consent, sexual violence, and harassment as well as their role in supporting disclosures. The working group are developing a training plan for staff. In the interim, the following video developed by Active Consent provides valuable information in relation to concepts, statistics, and basic language to support students or colleagues who disclose sexual violence to them.
PCHEI (Psychological Counsellors in Higher Education Ireland), (of which the DkIT Student Counselling Service are members), and the Higher Education Authority, have developed an online reporting tool that will allow for the anonymous reporting of incidents of sexual harassment, bullying, assault and violence. The tool will help you to find relevant supports and highlight formal reporting procedures, should you wish to use them.
We also have training available to all staff and students, which help contribute to a campus that is safe, respectful and supportive.
Staff and Student representatives will be provided with disclosure training to ensure that students in distress are responded to with compassion and care and guided to the best support available to them.
Every year we host the NUIG Active Consent Team to perform their play "The Kinds of Sex You Might Have At College" as part of First Year Induction.
1.5 hours (available to groups on request and offered to students in Semester 1 and 2)
Students and staff can also avail of the NUIG Active*Consent E-Learning Module, Sexual Violence and Harassment: How to Support Yourself and Your Peers. This module focuseson the understanding of sexual violence, harassment, and support services available to students who have had negative sexual experiences.
This is a 45-minute self-guided eLearning module and provides viewers with introductory skills in supporting anyone who discloses negative experiences and how to safely call out and intervene in developing negative situations in their peer group and community.
This training highlights the danger of normalising and accepting abusive behaviour and it aims to empower participants to better understand their capacity to intervene as pro-social bystanders.
This easy-to-use course can be done at your own pace and consists of approximately 2 hours online training with 4 self-directed modules. You can leave and return to course as many times as you wish.
Please email melissa.mackin@dkit.ie to receive the access code needed to access this training.
The hub includes answers to frequently asked questions and clear explanations of consent, sexual violence and harassment; an eLearning module for students; information on where to get help if a negative sexual experience occurs; information on training; and more.
The institute has established a new Promoting Consent and & Preventing Sexual Violence (PCPSV) Steering Group which will oversee the development and implementation of the new programme.
The Employee Assistance Programme for staff
The EAP is an available resource, providing professional support and information on a wide range of topics. It is available to all DkIT staff and their families. Free Phone 1800 814 243.
