On Thursday 8 February (Australia time), I hosted an online launch event of my Churchill Fellowship Report on preventing sexual violence in universities. My report is titled: Combative to Collaborative: International Perspectives on Preventing Sexual Violence at Australian Universities.
You can download a copy of my report here:
We were joined by some amazing leaders in this space from the USA, Canada and the UK, who spoke about their work preventing sexual violence in higher education institutions. My project was all about collaboration, so the purpose of this event was to bring people together from Australia and internationally to connect and learn. Overwhelmed by the turnout of around 120 people, I am so grateful for the active engagement and thoughtful discussions that were had.
Video recording of the launch event
Content Warning: Discussions of sexual violence and suicide.
Learn more about the speakers
Churchill fellow: Camille Schloeffel (she/her) is a passionate activist for the prevention of sexual violence and promotion of sexual wellbeing. She is the Founder of The STOP Campaign, a volunteer grassroots intersectional feminist organisation addressing sexual violence in tertiary learning communities through empowerment, education, activism and awareness. Camille led The STOP Campaign as the Director and Safeguarding Manager from 2018 to the end of 2023. In 2020, Camille was awarded the Peter Mitchell Churchill Fellowship to explore ways activists and universities can work together to prevent sexual violence on campus, and travelled to the United States of America, Canada and the United Kingdom in late-2022 to undertake this research. As a survivor herself, she is passionate about ending sexual violence in all its forms, supporting others to share their truths, building communities of care and leading collective action.
Chair: Sophie Aboud (she/her) is a proud intersectional feminist and activist in the sexual violence space. She has been a member of The STOP Campaign since 2021 and has served as a Board Director since 2023. Sophie was named the 2023 ACT Young Woman of the Year in recognition of her work to develop The STOP Campaign’s Safe Response Toolkit project. Sophie also co-lead The STOP Campaign’s 2023 College Program, which is a series of educational peer-led workshops with student leaders and residents at universities across the ACT about sexual violence, sexual wellbeing, destigmatisation and empowerment.
Speaker: Fiona Drouet (she/her) MBE is the founder and CEO of the Scottish charity, EmilyTest. At 18 years of age, her daughter Emily took her own life after being subjected to a relentless campaign of physical, psychological and sexual abuse by a fellow student while living and studying at University. Emily’s tragic death was the result of a series of preventable failures. Since, EmilyTest has been successfully campaigning to raise awareness of Gender Based Violence (GBV) and stimulate change in policy, professional practice, intervention and support in Scottish education. Working closely with the Scottish Government, Universities, Colleges, Police Scotland, UCU and the third sector, Fiona continues to guide the sector towards safer campuses for all students to live, work and study. Funded by the Scottish Government, EmilyTest has developed the world's first evidence-based GBV Charter for Colleges and Universities. The first Charter of its kind, it is intended to serve as a key driver in encouraging institutions to continually strive for excellence in the field of GBV prevention and intervention. Ensuring equal opportunity for every student, regardless of the university they study in.
Panel member: Anne Huhman (she/her), MSW is the Director of the University of Michigan’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center (SAPAC). She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, majoring in Journalism and Strategic Communication, and her Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Michigan, concentrating in Community Organizing. Anne has worked at SAPAC for 18 years and has held six different professional roles throughout that time. She provides strategic direction for the office, manages the day-to-day operations, and oversees all of the unit’s prevention education, survivor support, student leadership development, and community outreach and engagement efforts. She helps lead the institution in its sexual misconduct prevention, survivor support, and holistic wellness efforts through the Coordinated Community Response; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; and Well-Being Collective Teams. Anne helped create Relationship Remix, the sexual violence prevention program that was required for all first-year undergraduate students at the University of Michigan, and continues to provide leadership for required sexual violence prevention programming for incoming students at U-M. Anne is passionate about culture change and working collaboratively towards creating healthy, inclusive, respectful, and socially just communities.
Panel member: Chantelle Spicer (she/they) holds a Masters degree from Simon Fraser University and was the Co-Chair of Students for Consent Culture Canada from 2019-2021. Chantelle is dedicated to Indigenous sovereignty and futures, consent in all forms of solidarity, accountability, and care in and between our social movements. She has been involved in work with West Coast LEAF, the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, the Nanaimo Women’s Centre, and the Teaching Support Staff Union. They are also a poet, an artist, a gardener, a weaver, a dreamer and those things have to be mentioned because they are important to change-making. The lands Chantelle works with should be under jurisdiction of xʷməθkʷəyəm, Səl'ílwətaʔ,, and Skwxwú7mesh nations but, due to structures of genocide that target Indigenous women and two-spirit people, are illegally claimed by Vancouver & Canada.
Panel member: Omny Miranda Martone (they/xe) is the Founder and CEO of the Sexual Violence Prevention Association (SVPA), a national nonprofit dedicated to preventing sexual violence systemically. As a survivor of child sexual abuse and campus rape, they have dedicated their life to preventing others from enduring the same experience. Before founding the SVPA, they worked for some of the top nonprofits in the field including RAINN, BARCC, YWCA, and Every Voice Coalition. With the SVPA, they have led groundbreaking research, organizing, and advocacy for sexual violence prevention. Their work has been awarded by the United Nations Millennium Fellowship, the Clinton Foundation Global Initiative, and the Echoing Green Accelerator. Omny’s expertise is regularly requested. In 2022 they delivered a TEDx Talk titled "How to Prevent Sexual Violence?" and they have been featured in the Washington Post, Boston Globe, Al Jazeera, Teen Vogue, and more. They earned a Bachelors from Northeastern University in Human Services and a Masters in Public Policy from Brown University.
Please share widely and get in touch if you want to talk more about my research and what we can do together to prevent sexual violence across our campuses.
In solidarity,
Camille Schloeffel
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