IADT welcomes the launch of the Speak Out National Report
Speak Out is an anonymous online reporting tool developed by the Psychological Counsellors in Higher Education Ireland (PCHEI). Funding for the pilot was made available by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and HEA Centre of Excellence for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.
The national report highlights the lived experience of 682 individuals across the higher education system who bravely spoke out about their experiences of bullying, cyberbullying, harassment, discrimination, hate crime, coercive behaviour/control, stalking, assault, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and/or rape.
IADT is one of 18 higher education institutions represented in the national report.
Following the report’s launch, IADT President David Smith remarked on the importance of Speak Out for the higher education sector: “IADT welcomes the publication of the first Speak Out national report, which will support participating HEIs in the creation of robust and consistent frameworks and action plans to promote a culture of dignity and respect and signpost supports for survivors. Our higher education system has a powerful leadership role to play in preventing and responding to sexual violence and harassment, not only on our campuses but across wider society. I would like to congratulate all those involved in the design and roll-out of this important tool, especially the PCHEI and its members. A particular word of thanks and acknowledgement for our former IADT colleague, Rachel Skelly, who has been instrumental in driving Speak Out from the start as the project lead.”
Claire McGing, IADT EDI Manager with responsibility for sexual violence prevention, said: “The successful implementation of the Framework for Consent and the Ending Sexual Violence and Harassment in HEIs Implementation Plan, 2022-2024 requires a strong evidence base. Anonymous statistics from Speak Out provide a key source of information on the nature of inappropriate behaviours and which demographic groups are most at risk, in addition to the reason(s) why staff and students do or do not decide to report their experience formally. It is important to understand that the number of reports submitted via Speak Out does not directly reflect the prevalence of these behaviours; in reality, the actual incidence is likely far higher than reported here. For this reason, strong policies and procedures and ongoing training and awareness-raising campaigns are critical to tackling these issues in a rounded way.”
Access the IADT Speak Out tool
All staff or students at IADT and visitors, past or present, may use Speak Out to report one incident of inappropriate behaviour or a series of related incidents. It will help you find relevant support and highlight formal reporting procedures, should you wish to use them.
The data collected in this tool is completely anonymous, and we cannot identify or contact those who make a report. Access to individual responses is restricted to staff in the EDI Office. This site does not use cookies or collect IP addresses. Further information can be found in the Privacy Statement.
The IADT Speak Out tool can be accessed on the EDI webpage.
About Speak Out
The Speak Out tool was developed by PCHEI in consultation with representatives from each participating HEI, including staff from counselling services and EDI units. Tailored to the higher education context, the tool contains a series of tick-box questions allowing those speaking out to provide details of their experience(s) safely and anonymously. A number of the answers provided throughout the tool also include definitions and seek to increase awareness about different forms of behaviour. As a trauma-informed tool, it is intended that the process of working through the set of questions in Speak Out will help those reporting to come to terms with their experience. Research from UK universities has shown that the provision of an anonymous reporting mechanism has led to an increase in formal reports. Another benefit of Speak Out is that the information provided by those who choose to speak out can help improve awareness-raising and training initiatives and formal reporting procedures.