Response

A disclosure involves a person sharing an incident or experience of harassment or sexual misconduct. This may be a recent incident, or it may have occurred in the past. It may involve another university community member, or it may not.   Every experience and disclosure will be different, and there isn't one specific way to respond, but there are some guiding principles which can help you to frame your response and ensure you have covered all bases.  

It is important to reflect that you may not recognise a disclosure at first, and the affected person may not use terms such as ‘bullying’, ‘harassment’, ‘assault’ or ‘misconduct’ to describe their experience.  

However, it is important to listen and allow them to describe their experience in their own words.   

 Receiving a disclosure Sharing an experience of bullying, harassment or sexual misconduct is an act of trust. Therefore, it is important to reflect that you have clearly created the right environment for them to feel they can be open with you, and it is important that you remember that the affected person is not to blame.   

• Think about the space and environment you are in and if it is private and confidential, away from distractions. Ask the person if they feel comfortable where they are, and act on any suggestions for a change of location.    
• Encourage them to talk without putting words in their mouth and resist filling in any gaps in their speech. Be prepared for pauses or long silences   
• Reassure them it is not their fault, and they are not alone   
• Focus on listening rather than asking questions. If you do ask questions, make sure they are open questions and avoid asking ‘why’   
• It is important to believe the person. You are not there to cast judgement or to start making any assessment on the validity of their claims.   
• State your boundaries and clarify what kind of support (if any) you can provide going forward. It is useful to frame your response as “my role is X, and I do not want to be in a position where I let you down, and you do not receive the support you need and deserve”   
• Remind them that they have options about what to do next    
• Provide available support and reporting options, as this can help with their next steps   
• Be clear regarding obligations of confidentiality and duty of care you have and that you will need to pass their disclosure on to university safeguarding. Reassure them that this does not automatically railroad them in to formalising their complaint, that can be explored in more detail with them.   
• The person who is disclosing may set out their intentions for formalising their complaint at the get go, or throughout the conversation. Respect the affected person’s decision as to next steps and do not interpret this as a possible indication that what they are saying is not true.   

Give the person your full attention. Respond calmly and patiently. Using open-ended questions and requests, when possible, give the person giving the disclosure the opportunity to share more information about what they can recall. This method helps their brain retrieve information from a traumatic event(s) and offers them more control as they recount a time when they were possibly violated and had no control.  

Don't question the person’s account and avoid asking direct questions about their experience, such as 'What happened next?' or questions that imply judgement such as 'Why did you walk home that late at night on your own?'  Appropriate questions include:   

• How are you feeling?   
• Do you feel any better now you have told someone?   
• Would you like to talk to me or someone else about this?   
• Do you need medical attention?   
• Can I ask when this happened?   
• Do you know the options available to you?   
• Would you like to discuss these options with me or with someone else like a Student Life Colleague in Student Services?  

• Via any remit within the Student Life Directorate     
•  Safeguarding email (safeguarding@wlv.ac.uk)    
• If a student or apprentice learner to the Complaints and Student Case Work Team     
• If a colleague, directly to their line manager or Human Resources Business Partner.     
• Colleagues, Students and Apprentice Learners can also use our anonymous reporting route which can be found here     

Do:    

• Make factual notes about what the person affected told you. It is best to stick to guiding principles of who, where, what and when.   
• Record the options you discussed with the person   
• Record the actions the person decides to take   
• Record how the person said they were feeling and how it’s affecting them   
• Store the notes in a secure way.  

Don’t:    

• Write notes while the person is disclosing, if you feel you must, communicate this and what your intent is, which will be to ensure they do not miss any important details. A tip may include sitting with the person side by side so that they can see what you are writing and can be part of the process of documenting what they are saying.     
• Add your own thoughts of feelings about the person or the incident   
• Share your notes with other colleagues who don’t need to be involved