In a year that saw the racist murder of George Floyd, the catastrophic impacts of Covid-19, and an increased global awareness of the Black Lives Matter movement, Universities UK (UUK) published guidance on tackling racial harassment. We called on universities to take urgent action, as part of their wider efforts to tackle racism and racial inequalities in all forms.
Six months since we published that guidance, and a year since the murder of George Floyd, we want to use this directory of case studies to share some of the activities and initiatives adopted by UUK members to combat racism and racial harassment. We hope this will help others by suggesting approaches, highlighting possibilities, and sharing ideas and resources.
We have grouped the case studies into four key themes: developing institutional strategies; wellbeing, support, and consultation; prevention and training; and improving reporting.
Many of the contributors to this directory told us that their efforts are still in development and will need to be fully evaluated before they can truly understand their impact. We also know that fruitful initiatives at one university do not always succeed in a different context. This is therefore not intended to be a series of recommendations or a guaranteed blueprint for success, but rather, a useful starting point for those considering what more they could do. As ever, we recommend that members consult their whole university community, and centre the voices of those who have experienced racism themselves, when developing their response.
We hope members will find it beneficial as they keep up momentum on their efforts to tackle racism and racial harassment.
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