About the GBV Charter
In 2021, EmilyTest launched the world’s first Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Charter for colleges and universities.
The EmilyTest Charter was created in memory of Emily Drouet, an 18-year-old student who was subjected to a sustained campaign of GBV from a fellow student and later took her own life (you can read Emily’s story here).
The EmilyTest Charter is made up of five principles and a set of Minimum Standards, co-created with students, graduates, further and higher education staff, and violence against women and girls professionals from across the UK. The Charter’s Minimum Standard’s draw upon the failures and learnings from Emily’s story, student and staff needs, as well as existing work including the Equally Safe in Higher Education Toolkit.
Charter institutions receive dedicated coaching and mentoring from the EmilyTest team as they work towards meeting the Minimum Standards and ‘taking the Emily Test’, submitting information and evidence before an independent panel.
Charter institutions are invited to regular events, developing learning on key and emerging areas of GBV policy and building connections with other institutions committed to GBV work.
The Charter is open to universities and colleges based in Scotland and Charter applications are open year-round. To apply click here.
The Charter is currently being piloted with universities in England with a view to opening the Charter to English universities in future. If you are an English university interested in undertaking the Charter following its Pilot, complete our expression of interest form here.
Charter Development
The Charter was created between March 2020 and March 2021 after extensive research and co-creation across Scotland and the United Kingdom (UK) with hundreds of students, graduates, further education (FE) and higher education (HE) staff, Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) professionals and third sector professionals working with ‘marginalised’ groups such as ethnic minority women, disabled students, and LGBTQIA* youth.
The Charter has been continually evaluated since its creation, ensuring that the Charter is receptive to the changing needs of the FE and HE sector while keeping it aligned with evolving National Policy such as Equally Safe to ensure that the EmilyTest vision of eradicating GBV in the FE and HE sector is realised.
Commitment
Taking part in the GBV Charter is a significant but worthwhile undertaking.
Depending on an institution’s existing GBV focused work, EmilyTest will work with Charter institutions over a 12-18 month period.
EmilyTest meet with Charter institutions on at least a quarterly basis, as well as being on hand to provide advice and feedback on developing areas of work. The staff time and resources required will vary depending on:
- Existing GBV intervention, prevention and support work at your institution
- The size of your institution
The Charter takes a whole institution approach and requires commitment from senior leadership, and an openness to change. While EmilyTest does not require the appointment of a dedicated Charter lead, it is recommended that institutions identify a single point of contact to coordinate efforts. This, alongside the engagement of a core GBV working group committed to driving forward work on the Charter will support institutions in achieving the Award. Institutions will be supported to develop this group as part of the Charter.
The Charter is currently being piloted with universities in England with a view to opening the Charter to more English institutions in future.
Cost
Fees for the Charter Award have been co-developed between EmilyTest and the University & College sector across the UK, in line with the co-creation approach taken when designing our research-based Charter and Minimum Standards.
EmilyTest is committed to keeping fees at a subsidised level where possible. This is made possible with help from external funding, ensuring institutions are able to prioritise GBV work and are not restricted by financial pressures experienced within the sector.
We are in the process of reviewing our fee model. For more information on fees, contact charter@emilytest.org
