Education and training are important tools for preventing and responding to discrimination, harassment, and sexual misconduct in academic learning, living and working environments.
Prevention education aims to create and support respectful, inclusive, and equitable academic environments, with a focus on stopping harm before it occurs. Ongoing research in harm prevention continues to inform and strengthen strategies that help communities prevent discrimination, harassment and violence.
At the University of Washington, we remain committed to fostering environments where you feel valued and supported and have the opportunity to learn and grow. As a member of the UW community, you also have an important role to play in ensuring a respectful environment for others.
Creating respectful academic environments
If you interact with students in a laboratory, clinical, classroom, or library setting, you have the opportunity to proactively establish respectful learning environments. Taking preventative actions can increase students’ ability to engage, decrease the likelihood that harassment, discrimination, and sexual misconduct will occur, and establish guidelines for how you will respond if it does occur. Here are some suggestions.
- Clarify interaction norms: Communicate your expectations for respectful behavior in both online and in-person settings.
- Address potential harassment: Let students know how you plan to handle harassing behavior and harmful comments.
- Prepare responses: Develop and practice phrases you can use to promptly address remarks during class discussions, small group work, clinical rotations, or lab meetings.
- Offer support: Remind students they can come to you if something happens that impacts their ability to fully participate in the academic environment.
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- Highlight resource information: Provide information about UW support resources at the beginning of the quarter, and reference them regularly throughout your course to reinforce awareness and increase access.
- Include the Civil Rights Syllabus Statement: Ensure your syllabus and resource documents include the Civil Rights syllabus statement to emphasize support for students affected by discrimination, harassment, or sexual misconduct.
- Provide course content information: Inform students in advance about any course material that involves topics like sexual assault, harassment, relationship violence, stalking, exploitation, violence, or hate speech so that they can prepare accordingly.
- Prepare for course flexibility: Design your course or student experiences with the potential for supportive measures in mind. Be ready to adjust evaluative assignments or engagement expectations if a student requests supportive measures.