New reps "SHAPE" up in the fight against harassment

May 23, 2007

Sexual harassment has no place at UNE: that's the message, and 31 newly-trained student volunteers are determined to spread it.

The students, from each of UNE's residential colleges as well as town, completed a weekend training program where they learned about the causes and consequences of sexual harassment and assault, how to deal with it when it happens and how to help prevent it.

The training was a prerequisite to their becoming official "SHAPES" representatives – SHAPES being the acronym for UNE's Sexual Harassment and Assault Peer Education and Support program.

The weekend brought the total number of SHAPES representatives on campus to 63.

The SHAPES program, which has been running at UNE since 1999, aims to raise awareness of sexual harassment and assault on campus and to offer a support network to people who experience them. It also forces participants to face up to some of their own prejudices and preconceptions, and confront the reality of sexual harassment and assault through stories and statistics.

What makes the program unique is that the volunteers are drawn from the students' own ranks – the theory being that a traumatised person is more likely to approach someone close than a stranger.

"People generally feel more comfortable talking to someone similar to themselves," says Annette Stevenson, coordinator of the SHAPES program and a counsellor at UNE. "When someone is in distress, they are more likely to approach someone in their immediate vicinity. There are at least half-a-dozen SHAPES reps in each college, so people should always have somewhere to turn if something happens to them."

The program's emphasis is as much on education as support, and SHAPES volunteers play an important role in educating their fellow students on what is – and isn't – acceptable behaviour in the hallways and dorm rooms where they live, study and play together.

"We teach our reps how to recognise harassment when it occurs and try to instill them with the confidence to challenge these behaviours when they see them," Annette says. "We believe people are more likely to hear a message when it comes from a peer than when it comes from some outside authority."

In addition to speaking out against harassment when it occurs, SHAPES representatives spread their message of respect through quiz nights, t-shirts, posters, and Shapes eating competitions (Shapes crackers, that is).

Arts/law student Sheri Carolin, 21, has been a SHAPES rep since 2005 and says the reps play an important role in maintaining harmony in an often rowdy college environment.

"We all have to live together and be sensitive to each other," she says. "So if we see a t-shirt slogan or a party theme that's likely to be offensive to people, we try and tone all that down."

Unfortunately, college residents can and do find themselves in unpleasant situations, Sheri says.

"Like it or not, we have a party and drinking culture, and where you have that sort of environment things are bound to go wrong. People sometimes do things they didn't think they would ever do."

"Any serious issues are dealt with by the university or the police, but if people feel uncomfortable, it can help to talk to someone independent from the college system."

"Our job is to listen, understand and support them, and help them take the issue further if they want to."

"A big emphasis is on just listening to the person," Annette Stevenson says. "Letting them know it wasn't their fault and that they are believed. For a lot of people, that's the most important part right there."

For more information about the program, or to contact a SHAPES representative, visit the SHAPES website at http://www.une.edu.au/shapes or speak to the SHAPES coordinator, Annette Stevenson, on 6773 2897.

Press contact: Leon Braun (UNE Public Relations) on (02) 6773 3771. A photo is available to accompany this story.

Posted by Leon Braun at May 23, 2007 10:54 AM