Essex staff organise 16 Days of Action Against Domestic Violence 

Essex staff are supporting the campaign 16 Days of Action Against Domestic Violence to take a stand against domestic abuse and violence

A series of events online has been organised across our three campuses by staff taking part in the Future Leaders leadership development programme.

Louise Ratnage, who is taking part in the Future Leaders programme and helping organise events, said: "We had the opportunity to develop ideas and collaborate with different colleagues from other departments. Initially, the project started with the desire to help students bridge the gap of learning new life skills that come with starting University and being away from home, perhaps for the first time.

"Through research and feedback and, alongside the Res Life team, the idea quickly moved onto how we could raise awareness of the some of the real and difficult challenges that students face. The 16 Days of Action Against Domestic Violence campaign was something we all felt passionately about and, we decided that we could do great work at the University by raising awareness of this campaign and hosting events with organisations on campus and online.

"We want everyone in our University community to feel safe and, bring awareness to what we can do collectively and the services that are available. We have invited organisations to join us over 16 Days of Action Against Domestic Violence including the Terrence Higgins Trust, Essex Police and the SOS Bus. We’ve also collaborated with the University’s Security and Campus Safety team who will be hosting Personal Safety Course taster sessions and the opportunity to sign up to their free 2 hour course.”

All events are listed on the University's events pages.

What is Future Leaders?

Future Leaders is the first-level leadership programme for academic staff and professional services colleagues at the University. The programme is a unique opportunity for these staff to develop their leadership skills and networks, widen their sphere of influence and find out how decisions are made across the University. The programme is led by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and is a unique opportunity to develop leadership skills and personal networks whilst formalising a career plan.